Enzo Maresca has singled out Ryan McAidoo for special praise following Manchester City’s pre-season opener against Inter Milan, with the new head coach revealing the 18-year-old winger has caught his attention since his very first day in charge.
McAidoo was introduced from the bench during City’s 1-1 draw with the Serie A champions in Hong Kong and immediately gave the Citizens’ attack a different dimension.
The youngster twice went close to snatching a dramatic late winner, using his pace and directness to repeatedly unsettle an experienced Inter back line, before the match was eventually decided on penalties, which City lost.
It was a cameo that did not go unnoticed by Maresca, who used his post-match press conference to explain exactly why McAidoo has stood out to him during the early weeks of pre-season.
“We were speaking with the club and since day one I said he is the kind of winger I love,” Maresca said.
“He is very aggressive one v one, he always tries, makes the right decisions. But he is very young and he needs the right path.”
Maresca wants more from his wide options
The Italian’s comments offer an early insight into the type of football he wants City to play under his stewardship, with directness and one-on-one quality from wide areas clearly high on his list of priorities.
Maresca placed McAidoo in the same bracket as Antoine Semenyo and Savinho, both of whom also impressed him during the Inter test.
“If you look in the last the clubs I was part of, I always ask for those kinds of wingers,” he explained.
“You have to do the right process but then you need players wide who can beat players one v one. Antoine, Savinho and Ryan were very good. We need to add more solutions for them and they will be better.”
That last line will interest supporters watching City’s business in the transfer market closely, with Maresca hinting that further additions to the wide areas could still follow before his squad is considered complete for the season ahead.
No decisions made yet on academy graduates
McAidoo’s outing against Inter formed part of a broader theme from City’s opening pre-season fixture, with seven academy graduates handed minutes and several more travelling with the squad on tour.
It continues a pattern from last season, when McAidoo made his senior debut for the club, and reflects Maresca’s stated willingness to give young players a genuine chance to impress.
However, the head coach was quick to stress that no long-term decisions have yet been taken over the futures of City’s crop of academy talent. The coming weeks set to prove pivotal in shaping who stays involved with the first team and who may be sent out on loan for further development.
“At the moment, with most of the young players, the idea was to see them during pre-season and then decide,” Maresca said. “We are going to take the right decision. I am always very open with young players.”
For McAidoo, the challenge now is to build on a promising first impression as City continue their pre-season programme.
Performances like the one produced against Inter will only strengthen the case for regular first-team involvement, though Maresca’s comments suggest patience will remain part of the process as the winger is carefully guided through the next stage of his development.
