Manchester City are using the Premier League market to strengthen their squad for incoming manager Enzo Maresca this summer.
The post-Pep era at Manchester City has finally begun. After a decade in charge under Guardiola – six Premier League titles, one Champions League and a spell redefining what English football clubs can achieve – the question of what comes next has hung over the Etihad all summer.
Maresca will be the new player in the hotseat, and the three-year contract is understood to be about to be completed, according to the BBC.
The 46-year-old Italian comes with a recognizable style – his hand-based, technically complex football made him a perfect fit for the City job, and it was enough to convince the management that he was not only the right choice, but the only candidate.
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The appointment was completely random. Chelsea, who had Maresca under contract until 2029 when he left in January, pursued a fee reported to be in excess of £10m – a price City have agreed to meet, and now the real work begins.
Maresca inherits a brilliant team but one that will need to be updated, reshaped and rebuilt areas before it can really show its vision.
Man City transfer updates: Gusto, Anderson
City have started their summer shopping close to home, already looking to raid their Premier League rivals for Chelsea defender Malo Gusto.
Chelsea will want £75million for the France international, while Maresca’s former club are not keen to sell the defender, who is understood to be a key member of the squad.
Then there is the matter of Elliot Anderson, who has been the talk of the town on both sides of Manchester as Nottingham Forest fight for the biggest possible price.
Fabrizio Romano shared the latest on City’s bid on his YouTube channel, revealing that ‘here we go’ is coming soon and City are ‘perfect’ to do the deal.
“Manchester City is (certain) to complete the deal. City is doing everything possible, it’s about the final details and this will happen soon.”
The 23-year-old is currently playing for England at the FIFA World Cup, and talkSPORT revealed that the campaign could determine when City will make their next bid.
City want to make a bid for Anderson ahead of England v Panama
According to reporters Alex Crook and Ben Jacobs, writing for talkSPORT, City’s final bid to end the deal with Nottingham Forest could be imminent.
They report an offer of £106m plus £15m in add-ons has been rejected, but the next bid ‘could happen before England’s next game’ and would break the British transfer record set by Alexander Isak’s £125m move to Liverpool.
Anderson has started both of the Three Lions’ games in North America and is expected to retain his place in the team for the final group game on Saturday.
Why City are completely focused on Anderson
Romano also shared an update on the future of Newcastle star Sandro Tonali, and inside lies the reason why City are so keen to get Anderson off the hook.
“I don’t come here to talk about Man City, I don’t come here to talk about other teams, as I told Tonali at Tottenham last week, other teams are no longer mentioned,” he said on Thursday morning.
“Let’s follow the situation, but the agreement is still there (Tottenham).
It looks like it’s only a matter of time before Spurs make their bid to bring the Italian to North London, so both clubs will get their first choice after City settle on Anderson.
The Forest star shares many characteristics with Tonali but showed a greater attacking threat last season, scoring four times and providing four assists in the top flight, while the Newcastle man managed just two assists and no goals.
