Enzo Maresca Faces Transfer Window Challenges Ahead of Community Shield

Enzo Maresca is braced for a frantic end to the transfer window, but one deal is already off Chelsea’s timetable. Manchester City will not meet the London club’s 5pm Friday deadline to sign Enzo Fernández.

Maresca steps into the spotlight on Sunday, taking charge of City in a major match for the first time in the Community Shield against Arsenal in Cardiff. The squad he sends out there will look nothing like a finished product.

City are close to landing 18-year-old midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille, a move that fits the club’s long-term planning. Fernández, though, is the headline name. The Argentine, who worked with Maresca at Chelsea, remains a serious target but comes with a £120m price tag. Chelsea have drawn a line in the sand: meet that valuation by 5pm on Friday or walk away.

Maresca made it clear City would not dance to that tune.

“Not today to be honest, I don’t think we’re going to do something today,” he said. “For sure there are things we need to do, how many I don’t know, can be one can be two depends also if players want to leave so we can see. It’s 48 hours for the final, my first final in this club, I would like to win my first trophy, so my focus isn’t on players that can leave or players that can arrive, my focus is on the game.”

While the Fernández saga rumbles on, City are fighting battles of their own to keep key players.

The club have already turned down two bids from Barcelona for Rodri and are braced for a third. The midfielder, who has a year left on his contract, reported back to the training ground on Friday after an extended break following Spain’s World Cup triumph. His future, though, remains a live issue.

Maresca refused to be pinned down on what happens next.

“The transfer window is open, we can buy players, we can sell players, anything can happen. I just saw Rodri now in the building, I gave him a big hug, he looks good, so we’ll see what happens.”

One departure is far closer to the finish line. Tijjani Reijnders is set to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Qadsiah after the clubs agreed a £51m fee. The Dutch midfielder arrived from Milan last summer but has pushed for a move in search of regular football.

Maresca, who has walked into a dressing room full of serial winners and restless squad players, understands the tension.

“They all work every day, they all do sessions every day and at the end of the week they all want to play a game,” he said. “When they don’t play, they struggle to understand or they struggle to see the reason why and I can understand that after one season some of them would like to play a little bit more. It’s a normal situation.”

The churn has already started. James Trafford has gone to Leeds. Omar Marmoush, Rico Lewis and Savinho, all on the fringes for much of Pep Guardiola’s final season, could follow him out of the door if suitable offers land.

So Maresca heads into his first final with City in a curious position: one eye on Arsenal in Cardiff, the other on a transfer market that refuses to slow down. The question now is not whether this squad will change, but how radically it will look by the time the real business of the season begins.