Manchester City head coach Enzo Maresca says he has no doubts that new signing Iliman Ndiaye will adapt to life at the Etihad, despite admitting the forward spent much of his early involvement “moving in the wrong direction.”
Ndiaye completed a deadline-day move to City from Everton for a reported £65m, signing a five-year deal after two productive seasons on Merseyside.
The 26-year-old Senegal international, who also spent time at Marseille and Sheffield United, arrives as one of several new faces brought in to reshape City’s attack following Pep Guardiola’s departure this summer.
Learning the new system at Etihad
According to Manchester Evening News, Maresca was candid about the adjustment period facing his new forward, who has had only limited time on the training pitch with his new teammates.
“Ili just had two sessions with us, he needs to understand how to move,” Maresca said.
“Most of the time he was moving in the wrong way, wrong direction but he needs to learn and for sure he’s going to learn. When (Marc) Guehi has the ball he was dropping a lot, and we don’t need that.
“We need him in the last third so he can be higher, that space was more for Josko Gvardiol to go there.”
For a player like Ndiaye, whose game at Everton often involved dropping deep to link play and take possession off the back line, the shift is a significant one.
Maresca’s comments suggest he wants his new forward pushed further up the pitch, leaving deeper progression to teammates such as Gvardiol, who has license to break forward from a wider defensive role.
It is not unusual for a new signing to need time to grasp a manager’s positional instructions, particularly one as detail-oriented as Maresca, who built a reputation for his tactical structure during his time at Chelsea.
Several of City’s other summer arrivals have faced a similar adjustment as the club undergoes wholesale change following the end of the Guardiola era.
A busy summer of rebuilding
Ndiaye’s arrival capped a hectic transfer window for City, who moved for the winger late in the window after missing out on other attacking targets.
He becomes one of a host of new faces at the Etihad this summer, joining fellow recruits brought in as Maresca reshapes the squad in his own image.
Speaking after putting pen to paper on his contract, Ndiaye made clear how much the move meant to him.
“I’ve worked my whole life for an opportunity like this,” he said.
“City are one of the best clubs in the world, and I have seen them win everything as I have grown up. To be able to write my own chapter in a story that special is the chance of a lifetime, and I am determined to grab it with both hands.”
The forward, who scored six goals for Everton last season, is known for his close control, two-footed dribbling and ability to operate across the front line.
City’s hierarchy will be hoping those qualities translate quickly once he adapts to Maresca’s demands, though the head coach’s comments serve as a reminder that even technically gifted players face a learning curve when adjusting to a new manager’s principles.
Meanwhile, Maresca’s first months in charge have already brought both promise and teething problems, with City’s attacking play showing signs of fluency in patches while questions remain over defensive organisation and cohesion.
Bringing Ndiaye up to speed quickly will be seen as an important part of solving that puzzle, given the goal threat and creativity he is expected to add to the front line.
