Maresca backs £65m Ndiaye to adapt despite 'wrong direction' Man City debut

Enzo Maresca has backed Iliman Ndiaye to find his feet at Manchester City despite a difficult positional debut in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Coventry, admitting the £65m signing from Everton spent much of the game “moving in the wrong direction.”

Ndiaye was handed a starting role having completed his deadline-day transfer only days earlier, with Maresca judging him ready enough after just two training sessions. The City manager was candid in his assessment but insistent the Senegalese winger will adapt to the system’s demands.

“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.”

The same issue arose on the right side, where Maresca noted Antoine Semenyo also dropped too deep when Abdukodir Khusanov had possession. “He has to stretch,” the manager said. “That space was for Enzo [Fernandez], but again in time they are going to learn the way we want to play.”

Ndiaye was one of several new faces in the squad on Saturday. Enzo Fernandez and Ndiaye both made their first appearances for the club, while Ayyoub Bouaddi and Ryan McAidoo played in front of the home support for the first time. Maresca cited those debuts as a key reason for his satisfaction with the result.

“For many reasons I’m happy with today’s win,” he said. “I think they were all good.”

The match represents an early glimpse of a significant rebuild at the Etihad following Pep Guardiola’s departure, with the club having reshaped their squad considerably over the summer. Maresca’s comments suggest he is prioritising tactical understanding as much as individual quality as he beds in his new players.