Ballon d'Or winner and other long-serving stalwarts depart. Maresca: I'll try to find the new Rodri

“I’ll try to find the new Rodri. That’s our goal. When David Silva was here, Kevin De Bruyne arrived; when Sergio Agüero was here, Erling Haaland came; and when Fernandinho was here, Rodri arrived. Whenever one player leaves, you have to find another,” Maresca was quoted by AFP ahead of the new Premier League season’s opening weekend. His squad will kick off their campaign at home against Bournemouth.

However, the 46-year-old manager will have to contend without several key players from his predecessor Pep Guardiola’s title-challenging squad, a battle ultimately won by Arsenal.

Besides Rodri, Bernardo Silva, John Stones, Nathan Aké, and Tijjani Reijnders have all departed the club. Speculation also surrounds the potential exits of Savinho, Omar Marmoush, and Nico Gonzalez.

City’s only significant reinforcement so far has been midfielder Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest, but Maresca anticipates more new arrivals before the summer transfer window closes.

“We have to adapt; we don’t want to keep players here who don’t want to be here. It’s common in the transfer window for clubs to hold onto players as long as possible to sell them for more. I’m not worried about it. Once the transfer window closes and we have a completely new squad, things will look different,” added the Italian coach.