As the clock ticks down to his first Premier League match in charge of Manchester City, new manager Enzo Maresca has made a clear case that the club needs time to navigate its ongoing rebuild, after sweeping changes both on the bench and on the pitch that represent the biggest transition the Etihad Stadium side has seen in a decade. The Italian coach stepped into the role vacated by Pep Guardiola, the legendary Spanish manager who stepped down at the end of last season after an unparalleled 10-year tenure that brought 20 major trophies, including six Premier League titles. Filling the void left by Guardiola’s unprecedented success is already one of the most daunting jobs in European football, and Maresca’s challenge has grown far more complex with a wave of high-profile departures hitting City’s first-team squad this summer. Fan-favorite midfield and defensive mainstays Rodri, John Stones, and Bernardo Silva have all already left the club, and star winger Savinho is on the brink of completing a move to Tottenham Hotspur. City’s current rebuilding phase comes after the club ended its 2024-25 campaign without a Premier League title, finishing seven points behind defending champions Arsenal. The gap between the two sides was highlighted again just last weekend, when Arsenal crushed City 3-0 in the annual Community Shield curtain-raiser, a result that put the size of Maresca’s task firmly in the spotlight ahead of Sunday’s opening home fixture against Bournemouth. Speaking to reporters on Friday ahead of the game, Maresca acknowledged the scale of the upheaval at the club but stressed that change is not an excuse for underperformance. “When you make many changes, not only the manager, Rodri was here, John (Stones) was here, Bernardo (Silva) was here. It’s a big change, but it doesn’t mean that we won’t be ready to compete,” Maresca said. “It’s a context, it’s not an excuse. We need to be ready, I want to compete. The reason I’m here is because I want to try and win titles, and carry on what this club stands for in the last 15 years. Where we are now, it’s a bit complicated because we started one month ago. But the intention is to compete as soon as possible.” Maresca is under no illusion that a slow start to the new season will bring immediate pressure from fans and pundits alike, but the former Chelsea head coach remains confident his side will deliver results in time. “When we win games, fans are happy. When we don’t win games, everyone is upset. It’s important to win games because we are all more happy but no doubt we are going to win games,” he added. The rebuild is still very much a work in progress as the summer transfer window enters its final 11 days. Along with Savinho’s impending exit, reports have linked Egypt forward Omar Marmoush with a move to Tottenham, and there are lingering question marks over the future of attacking midfielder Nico Gonzalez. On the incoming side, Maresca has been heavily linked with a move for Lille teen prospect Ayyoub Bouaddi, former Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez, and Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister. When asked whether the stream of outgoing players had disrupted his early squad planning, Maresca admitted that convincing players to stay when they have already made up their mind to leave is all but impossible. “It’s quite clear when players want to leave, for any reason, then it’s complicated to convince them to stay or change their thoughts,” he explained. “It happened with Rodri, the same thing is happening with Savinho, since day one he asked me that he wants to leave. So now we are waiting.” Maresca clarified that Marmoush’s situation is far less settled than Savinho’s, noting: “I don’t know. Omar is still here. Different situation than with Savinho. We’ll see what happens.” The City boss worked with Enzo Fernandez during his time at Chelsea, and he is well aware of the Argentine midfielder’s elite quality, but he declined to comment on a potential £120 million move for the star, citing professional respect for his former club. “Enzo is a Chelsea player and I’m not going to talk about players who are not with us, first of all, because I think it’s a lack of respect, and second of all because I don’t like when different managers talk about our players,” Maresca said. Despite the ongoing uncertainty around incomings and outgoings, Maresca says he remains completely unruffled by the situation, with the club working closely alongside the sporting director to land the right targets before the transfer window closes. “I’m not worried, I’m not concerned. Since day one, we knew exactly what we need. We are working together with the sport director of the club, there are 11 days to go until the window shuts and many things can happen.”