Man City's dream XI under Enzo Maresca as four new signings transform Pep Guardiola's old side

Manchester City seem to be in for a season of transition after their greatest ever manager Pep Guardiola left at the end of last season.

He was replaced by his former assistant Enzo Maresca after the Italian won the Championship with Leicester City in his first season in management, before he was rewarded with the top job at Chelsea, where he won the Club World Cup.

Despite spending time as Guardiola’s second-hand man, Maresca now arrives back at City adopting a slightly different style of play which requires a few different players.

The 46-year-old has been given one of the toughest jobs in world football as he needs to replace a manager that won 18 trophies in just eight years, including a treble season and summing up 100 points.

The Citizens repeated that historic treble winning Champions League final in Maresca’s first game of pre-season, as they were this time defeated on penalties by Inter Milan following a 1-1 draw.

But who should Maresca sign to form part of his Dream XI:

Gianluigi Donnaruma - GK

There is unlikely to be much change to the back four for the Italian’s side and with James Trafford looking likely to leave for Leeds United, that only solidifies Gianluigi Donnarumma’s stance as No.1.

The 26-year-old joined last summer and immediately dislodged Trafford from between the sticks just a matter of weeks after the England international had joined the club himself.

Once the Italian came in, he immediately showed why he’s considered one of the best goalkeepers in the world, despite not making it to the 2026 World Cup as he kept 15 clean sheets in just 34 starts.

Malo Gusto - RB

However, the first change to the side and new signing may come in the right back position, where Maresca may turn to a familiar face to solve the issues of an unfamiliar system.

Malo Gusto joined up with Maresca when the then head coach joined the Blues from Leicester City at the start of the 2024/25 season.

The Frenchman then went on to make 41 appearances in all competitions as the side lifted the UEFA Europa Conference League Trophy, as well as the Club World Cup at the start of the following season.

Nico O’Reilly - LB

Matching on the other side is likely to be academy product Nico O’Reilly, who seemed to make the position his own last season in the absence of Josko Gvardiol.

Everybody expected the move to be a temporary one but the 21-year-old thrived going on to make 55 appearances in his breakthrough season, contributing to 15 goal involvements along the way.

That suggests that the direct full-back may be perfect for Maresca’s system after he made a further seven appearances at the World Cup in the same position.

Marc Guehi - LCB

There’s not much need for change in the heart of Maresca’s defence given the relatively recent acquisition of Marc Guehi in January, after he attracted interest from the likes of Liverpool and Real Madrid last summer.

The Englishman has looked at home in the heart of City’s backline ever since he arrived at the Etihad, picking up 15 Premier League appearances and a further five in the FA Cup and Champions League.

That was enough to earn the 26-year-old a starting spot for England this summer as he started in all but their World Cup opener against Croatia.

Abdukodir Khusanov - RCB

He was partnered perfectly with the upturn of Abdukodir Khusanov’s form last season after a relatively slow start when the Uzbekistan international joined in January 2025.

He recovered to make 21 Premier League appearances last year in the absence of Rúben Dias and given the recent injury troubles of the Portuguese star, Khusanov could find himself in the starting lineup on a regular basis.

His pace gave him the ability to fit perfectly into City’s highline and alongside Guehi, who likes to step out of defence, as the pair contributed to 16 clean sheets for Guardiola’s side.

Elliot Anderson - DM

Moving into midfield, it looks increasingly likely that Rodri is going to depart the side for Real Madrid just a year before his contract expires.

And with £120million World Cup bronze medallist Elliot Anderson already through the door, his spot in the XI seems guaranteed, but the man alongside him will be decided by the fate of the transfer market.

The midfielder joined the side from relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest prior to the World Cup where the midfielder featured in every England game on the way to the country’s best overseas finish in the tournament.

Ayouub Bouaddi - DM

It has been reported that Lille midfielder Ayouub Bouaddi has already agreed personal terms in an £86million deal after the 18-year-old impressed at the World Cup with Morocco.

However, Man City are clearly still confident of keeping hold of Rodri as negotiations remain over whether to loan Bouaddi back to Lille for the 2026/27 season.

Either way, it seems that Maresca’s dream XI long term is going to see the teenager sitting in front of a solid backline, with Anderson operating as more of a box-to-box.

Jeremy Doku - LW

Jérémy Doku looks set to remain on the left-hand side with both Savinho and Omar Marmoush looking more likely to leave.

The winger came into his own towards the end of last season, as he found five goals and five assists in just 19 starts as he was in and out of the team.

However, the departure of Savinho and Marmoush could open the door for the Belgian to start more consistently in a season in which the side looks to reset and build another long-term project.

Phil Foden - CAM

A man that needs to find his form once again is City’s academy product Phil Foden after the midfielder had a season below his usual standards last term, and he was subsequently dropped from the England squad ahead of the recent World Cup.

The midfielder still managed to show his class with a purple patch towards Christmas in which he contributed seven goal involvements in five games, although the midfielder needs to show that quality more consistently.

If he fails to do so, it may instead pave the way for last year’s signing of the season nominee, Rayan Cherki to take his place after he popped up with 12 assists in just 19 starts last term, also proving himself to be a more than viable option off the bench.

Anthoine Semenyo - RW

On top of that, all three of those players seem more than capable of swapping places with Anthoine Semenyo on the right-hand side, who will look to cut inside, and is another one that is desperate to carry on his goalscoring form from last year.

The Ghanaian international contributed 17 goals in 37 Premier League starts after joining the side from Bournemouth in January for a potential £64million move.

Erling Haaland - ST

One person that could help Foden find his form once again is City’s physical frontman, Erling Haaland, who is entering his fifth season with the Citizens.

The Norwegian joined the side at the start of the 2022/23 season and has managed to bag himself 162 goals in 198 appearances in all competitions in his time in Manchester.

While the way in which he occupies defenders may be exactly what the aforementioned Foden needs to find space in Maresca’s wide system.

Given the amount of money that has already been spent on Maresca’s team this season it is unlikely that many more will arrive in City’s starting XI this season, but with the two likely departures in the attack we could see some arrivals in the form of a back-up.

That could see the side change even more in the next two or three years in what is certainly going to be a period of transition for the eight-time Premier League winners.

How will it work?

But, the squad won’t be the only place that Maresca may implement changes as he will most likely use a marginally different system to his mentor, the basic principles of attacking football, a high line and an intensive press are likely to remain.

The same applies to the traditional 4-2-3-1 formation often used by Guardiola out of possession but could easily transition into the same 3-2-4-1 shape used, or potentially even as aggressive as a 2-2-4-2 during a sustained period of possession.

The biggest difference may come in the wide areas and specifically with the full-backs, where the Italian may use a slightly more traditional approach and move away from the inverted full backs that his predecessor preferred.

That will all be facilitated by the double pivot that is now likely to sit at the base of their midfield, with Elliot Anderson still operating as a box-to-box but marginally deeper than Bernardo Silva often found himself, thus opening space for the full-backs out wide.

Width has often been a large factor of Maresca’s teams both at Leicester and Chelsea so it is likely that City will have someone hugging both touchlines at all times, but that could very easily differ on each side.

Why would he do it?

On the right City would have the more traditional link-up between a full-back and a winger, in which Gusto would be the direct runner and overlap around the outside but also arrive at the back-post when play comes down the left.

Therefore that allows Semenyo to move inside while one of him or O’Reilly form a front two with Haaland and continue their goalscoring exploits from last season; while on the other side City have the option of two direct runners, one that likes to run at a man and cross early.

As well as another that loves to run into space and attack the ball, it suggests a way that O’Reillly will still invert further up the pitch and leave City exposed with two defenders at the back, while he arrives into the penalty to attack the crosses coming in from the right as Haaland occupies defenders.

Who does it benefit most?

That essentially almost forms a front six for a City side likely to dominate possession and keeps the pitch wide, as Doku hugs the left touchline and crosses early all while allow Foden the space to thrive in the pocket.

He simply just needs to cover the area on the edge of a crowded penalty box, as defenders are occupied by the height of O’Reilly and Haaland, while also drifting around the pitch in a similar way that Palmer did under Maresca to pick up a short pass inside if the cross isn’t on.

Those subtle changes still result in a similar shape for Maresca’s men but with slightly different personnel occupying the spaces which ultimately may result in a slow transition for the Manchester club.

Overall, the manager still has the personnel to use the inverted full-backs as he briefly experimented with in his time at Leicester between Ricardo Perreira and Hamza Choudhury, but his reluctance to adopt it at Chelsea suggests a new style for the Italian.