Maresca prioritises Manchester City final amid Rodri uncertainty and Enzo Fernandez questions

Enzo Maresca says Manchester City must focus on winning the English Community Shield against Arsenal on Sunday, while offering no clarity over Rodri’s future and refusing to discuss reports linking the club with Enzo Fernandez.

The match at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff is Maresca’s first competitive fixture as Manchester City manager and will provide an early test at the start of the new season.

“Arsenal have proved over the past few years that they are always a strong and consistent competitor. They are a great team built by Mikel Arteta. They have performed amazingly and shown how strong they have been recently. But at the same time, we are Manchester City, and we will try to reduce the gap and compete strongly,” Maresca said at his pre-match news conference.

The Italian manager insisted the game should be treated as a contest for silverware rather than a final warm-up match.

“For me personally, the Community Shield is a competition, and when there is a competition and a final, you always try to win. So it is not a friendly match at all. It is a competition that we will do our best to win and to achieve our first trophy,” he said.

Maresca believes his squad has made steady progress during pre-season, but said the next step was to turn that improvement into victories and trophies.

“It is important that we continue to grow and improve. I think the pre-season has been good, and the team has improved continuously from one game to another. Now that pre-season is over, we have to compete, win games and win trophies,” he said.

“What I want to see is the right spirit to continue developing, and the right mentality to win games and win trophies.”

Manchester City are also managing a period of change, with several long-serving players having left, or potentially preparing to leave, the club.

“We are going through a moment of change at the moment, and once the transfer window closes, we will have to be ready to find solutions for the team as quickly as possible,” Maresca said.

“We are in a period in which players who have spent many years here are leaving, or could leave, and that means there is change happening. We will do our best to deal with it.”

Maresca said his squad is almost fully fit for the match, with Ryan McAdoo the only player not completely ready.

“Ryan McAdoo had a small problem during pre-season, but he has already trained with us, so everyone is fit, bearing in mind that some players only joined the team two days ago,” he said.

Erling Haaland is also available after missing the final minutes of Thursday’s training session. Savinho, however, was absent from Friday’s session because of a minor illness.

“He did not take part in training yesterday because he had a small illness. We will see how he is today, as training will take place in the afternoon, and we will assess his condition to decide whether he will be available against Arsenal,” Maresca said.

Asked about Rodri’s future, Maresca again stressed that the transfer window remained open and suggested no outcome had been ruled out.

“As I have already said, the transfer window is open; we can buy players or sell them, and every possibility is open. I have just seen Rodri inside the building and hugged him warmly. We will see what happens,” he said.

Maresca also acknowledged the difficulty of persuading players to remain when they have already decided to move on. He cited Tijjani Reijnders, James Trafford and other players as examples.

“It is kind of difficult to convince players to stay when they are already convinced that they want to leave. This applies to the situation with Tijjani Reijnders, and perhaps James Trafford and some other players,” he said.

“I think that when the club, the player and the coach agree that leaving is the best decision for some players, then they have to leave.”

Those comments indicate there is agreement at Manchester City that Reijnders’ departure would be the right decision for both the player and the club, despite the Netherlands midfielder having joined only last summer.

Saudi Arabian club Al-Qadsiah have agreed to buy Reijnders for £52m, with the deal expected to be completed in the coming period. Reijnders was with the squad in Manchester on Thursday but did not take part in an open training session at the Manchester City Football Academy.

Maresca declined to comment on the club’s reported interest in Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez.

“I have to give you the same answer that I have given from day one, and that answer will always remain the same: he is a player who belongs to another club, and I do not think it is right to talk about other players,” he said.

Asked whether Manchester City would make a move on Friday or whether there was a deadline for the deal, Maresca replied: “Not today, honestly. I do not think we will make any move today.”

He confirmed the club still expected to make further additions during the transfer window, although the number would depend partly on departures.

“Absolutely, there are things we need to do. As for the number, I do not know at the moment. It could be one player or two, and it also depends on whether players leave the team,” he said.

“At this moment, 48 hours before playing a final, which is my first with this club, my focus is not on players leaving or arriving. My whole focus is on how to prepare for the game in the best way and try to win the trophy.”