Maresca's Focus on First Final Amid Transfer Turmoil

Enzo Maresca is braced for a frantic finish to the transfer window – but Manchester City will not be dancing to Chelsea’s tune over Enzo Fernández.

The new City manager, preparing for his first major game in charge in Sunday’s Community Shield against Arsenal in Cardiff, confirmed the club will not meet Chelsea’s self-imposed 5pm Friday deadline to strike a deal for the Argentina midfielder, valued at £120m.

Chelsea, who worked with Maresca during his spell at Stamford Bridge, have made it clear: pay up by the cut-off or walk away. City, for now, are doing the latter.

“Not today to be honest, I don’t think we’re going to do something today,” Maresca said when asked about business before the deadline. His gaze is fixed elsewhere. “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.”

Maresca juggling first final and unfinished squad

Maresca steps into the post-Pep Guardiola era with a squad still in flux. City are close to signing 18-year-old Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille, a move that underlines the club’s commitment to younger talent even as the market rages around them.

But the Italian admitted he is still unsure exactly what his group will look like once the window closes.

“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,” he said. The message is clear: there will be movement, but it will not distract him from Arsenal on Sunday.

Barcelona circling Rodri as City hold firm

Behind the scenes, one of the biggest storylines of City’s summer remains unresolved. The club have already rejected two bids from Barcelona for Rodri, and a third offer from the Catalan side is expected.

Rodri, with one year left on his contract, returned to City on Friday after an extended break following his World Cup triumph. Maresca greeted him warmly but refused to offer any guarantees over his immediate future.

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

City’s stance so far has been firm. Barcelona want to test it again. The next bid will show how serious they really are.

Reijnders set for Saudi move

One departure is much closer. Tijjani Reijnders is poised to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Qadsiah after the clubs agreed a £51m fee for the Dutch midfielder.

Reijnders arrived from Milan last summer but has pushed for more regular minutes. With competition fierce in City’s midfield, his route to the starting XI has remained blocked.

“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,” Maresca 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.”

Normal, perhaps, but significant. A £51m sale, a key midfielder in Rodri under pressure from Barcelona, and a £120m target in Fernández left on standby – City’s engine room is the most volatile part of Maresca’s new world.

Fringe faces and a shifting squad

James Trafford has already gone, sold to Leeds as City begin to reshape the edges of the squad. Omar Marmoush, Rico Lewis and Savinho, all peripheral figures in Guardiola’s final season, are also candidates to leave before the window shuts.

Each potential sale brings money and space. Each also nudges Maresca a little further away from the team he inherited and closer to one that will bear his stamp.

For now, though, the new manager has parked the spreadsheets and scouting reports. His first final with City arrives in 48 hours, against an Arsenal side desperate to land an early blow in the title race.

The window will keep spinning. The phone will keep buzzing. But Maresca has made his choice: the first trophy on offer comes before Chelsea’s deadline, before Barcelona’s next move, before the next outbound call to Saudi Arabia.