Joško Gvardiol says Enzo Maresca is “the perfect one” for Manchester City, and he did not stop there. The defender praised the manager’s ideas, said the squad will need to adapt quickly, and made clear that the new era will not come with comfort built in. Gvardiol also signed a new five-year deal to stay at City, after returning two months early from a broken leg suffered in January.

Maresca's ideas and the change in style

Gvardiol said Maresca has “some new ideas” and that City will need to “see what we are going to do with the style of play, the football we are going to play and the tactics.” He added: “I think he is a perfect one, but of course, it takes time.”

That is a fair reading of where City are now. The defender’s own path back from injury has already been tested in competitive football, with 4 World Cup appearances and 166 minutes after the broken leg. His spell back has not been perfect, but it has at least given him a working view of what recovery and adaptation look like in practice.

Gvardiol also admitted the squad’s job is to help Maresca and “listen to try to adapt as quick as possible.” That is the clearest sign of the mood around City at this stage, a club moving on from Pep Guardiola after ten years and trying to settle into something different without pretending the transition is instant.

Competition for places and the wider City picture

The other point Gvardiol made was about pressure. “It’s our job to help him as much as possible,” he said, and the message behind that is simple enough: nobody is being handed a place.

City’s recent run before the new era was mixed, with wins over Brentford, Crystal Palace and Chelsea in the FA Cup, plus a loss to Aston Villa and a draw at Bournemouth. Gvardiol also said City were given a shock start against Crystal Palace with ten days left of the campaign, which fits the sense of a squad that is still carrying the edge of a difficult finish rather than wiping the slate clean.

There is also a separate layer around Rodri. Maresca said any manager in the world would want Rodri, and the midfielder has only 8 appearances this season, with a 7.57 rating when available. That does not change Gvardiol’s point about the manager, but it does underline how much of City’s next phase still depends on fitness, recovery and the right players being available when the system is finally set.

For now, Gvardiol’s public line is clear: Maresca has the ideas, the squad has to adapt, and the early signs of the new era will be judged by how quickly City can make that work.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 4 outlets. How we work →