Enzo Maresca wants Ryan McAidoo to remain part of his first-team plans at City this season, rather than heading out on loan.
Asked about the 18-year-old winger’s next steps, Maresca made his preference clear. “The best for him is to stay with us, learn, be around the first team every day, try to be clever, intelligent, try to learn from Semenyo, Doku, the ones we have in this moment,” he said.
McAidoo has been one of the standout performers of City’s pre-season, catching the eye off the bench in the opening tour game against Inter Milan before featuring again as Maresca’s rebuild takes shape. The academy graduate, signed from Chelsea, made his senior debut under Pep Guardiola in last season’s FA Cup win over Exeter and has continued to push his case since.
With Savinho’s future at the Etihad increasingly uncertain amid interest from elsewhere, Maresca’s public backing of McAidoo carries added weight. The head coach has been explicit about wanting direct, one-on-one wingers in his side, and has repeatedly grouped McAidoo alongside Antoine Semenyo and Jeremy Doku when discussing his wide options.
No final decision has been made on whether City’s younger players will stay involved with the first team through the season or be sent out on loan, with those calls expected once the squad is back from its pre-season tour. For now, though, Maresca’s message on McAidoo is unambiguous: he wants him around the group, learning from the senior players ahead of him, rather than gaining experience elsewhere.
A long Premier League season, and any further arrivals out wide, will test that plan soon enough.
