Maresca signals Bouaddi is ready for bigger role after PSG comeback

Enzo Maresca has signalled that Ayyoub Bouaddi is ready to play a larger role at Manchester City after the 19-year-old Moroccan midfielder came off the bench to help spark a comeback against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League. Bouaddi replaced Rayan Cherki at half-time with City trailing 3-0, and his introduction allowed Enzo Fernandez to push further forward.

Bouaddi has managed only two starts since his £85m summer move from Lille, with Elliot Anderson and Fernandez preferred in central midfield for most of the season. He was signed as a long-term replacement after Rodri’s injury-enforced absence, but has had to be patient for his chances.

Maresca was effusive in his praise for the teenager after the match. “Ayyoub, first of all, is a fantastic player,” the City manager said. “The good thing about Ayyoub is that when he’s on the pitch he’s also improving the ones around him and this is what top players do. The ones that move around them are better and with Ayyoub the feeling that I have is that all the players around him are better.”

The nature of City’s second-half response raised questions about whether Bouaddi should be starting in high-profile European fixtures. Maresca acknowledged the team’s first-half difficulties had multiple causes but was clear that the Moroccan now represents a genuine midfield option alongside Anderson and Fernandez.

“I think that there are games where probably you need to be a little bit more aggressive in the middle,” Maresca said, “but that doesn’t mean that you need three defensive midfielders — you can also play with offensive midfielders like Rayan or Phil, but it depends a little bit on the game plan.”

Maresca added that PSG’s midfield quality — citing Vitinha, Fabián Ruiz, Warren Zaïre-Emery and João Neves — demanded a physical and technical response, and suggested City’s approach in the first half fell short of that. “For sure Bouaddi, Enzo and Elliot can be a solution in the future,” he said.