Man City set to replace Guardiola with Maresca

Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Enzo Maresca left Chelsea in January less than six months after winning the Club World CupBySami MokbelSenior football correspondentEnzo Maresca is set to replace Pep Guardiola as Manchester City manager before next season.As BBC Sport reported on Monday, iconic City boss Guardiola is expected to leave the club following Sunday's game against Aston Villa at Etihad Stadium, their final match of the season.Former Chelsea head coach Maresca has been identified as the leading contender to replace the legendary Spaniard for the 2026-27 season.With City preparing for Guardiola's summer exit for more than six months, talks with Maresca are at an advanced stage.The 46-year-old wants the job and is expected to be confirmed as Guardiola's successor in due course.The Italian manager, who won the Club World Cup and Conference League while securing Champions League qualification during his only full season at Stamford Bridge, previously worked at City.He was an assistant to Guardiola during City's treble-winning 2022-23 campaign and played a key role in the club's academy prior to joining the first team.The former West Brom and Juventus midfielder left City in 2023 to manage Leicester, whom he guided to promotion to the Premier League in his only season.Guardiola said previously: "One of the best managers in the world, Enzo Maresca, I know him quite well, but the job he has done at Chelsea does not get enough credit."Winning the Club World Cup, Conference League, qualification for the Champions League in a league that is so tough with a young team. It is exceptional."Figure caption, Monday Night Club discuss Manchester City's succession planningByPhil McNultyChief football writerMaresca's expected succession to Guardiola will mean the arrival of a much lower profile figure, but one steeped in the club's methods and approach.Maresca, who took Leicester back into the Premier League before winning the Conference League then the Club World Cup at Chelsea, is another graduate of the Guardiola coaching academy.The Italian worked as assistant under Guardiola at City before branching out on his own, following the same template as Mikel Arteta, now on the brink of Premier League and Champions League glory with Arsenal after a successful spell on the coaching staff at Etihad Stadium.Maresca would not arrive with the stellar coaching reputation and track record of success at elite level that the Catalan had accumulated, first at Barcelona then Bayern Munich, before arriving at City a decade ago and there would undoubtedly be an element of risk to his appointment.He would be following the hardest act of all, far harder than when he succeeded Mauricio Pochettino at Stamford Bridge in June 2024. And Maresca can be a combustible personality, evidenced by him leaving Chelsea in January after fractures appeared with the club's hierarchy.His time at Chelsea was regarded as a success, with qualifications, his possession-based football not always winning favour with supporters.Succeeding Guardiola, and somehow trying to replicate his remarkable successes, will be bring heavy pressures and intense scrutiny.In Maresca's favour, however, is that he would come with a glowing reference from the Spaniard, who believes he never received enough credit for his work at Chelsea.City's hierarchy, crucially, have first-hand knowledge of Maresca's character and ability.He would offer an element of continuity and stability following the seismic event that will be the departure of one of the greatest, most innovative figures in the game's history.Maresca would be trying to fill arguably the biggest shoes in modern football, but this would be no rushed appointment, no knee-jerk response.City's Abu Dhabi-based rulers will have been preparing for this day. Every aspect of due diligence will have been done. The rubber stamp would have only been applied after meticulous deliberations.This will still not stop this being something of a step into the unknown as City finally enter the post-Guardiola era.FootballPremier LeagueManchester City