Enzo Maresca to Manchester City: Ex-Chelsea coach looks set to replace Pep Guardiola

Danny Jones Danny Jones Enzo Maresca to replace Pep Guardiola as Man City manager

With Manchester City manager and club legend Pep Guardiola now confirmed to be leaving the Etihad Stadium at the end of this season, it appears that Enzo Maresca has already been identified as his replacement.

With the game-changing Catalan head coach now gearing up to leave Man City after a decade, following the conclusion of the 2025/26 Premier League campaign, Blues are already getting ready to bid a bittersweet goodbye.

You won’t find many City supporters who will be happy to see him go, having overseen not only a period of dominance but the most successful period in their history – one that has quite literally changed English football – but they will at least be optimistic about the frontrunner to succeed him.

As per the ever-reliable Fabrizio Romano, among other sources, an agreement is said to have been reached for the Italian to take over in East Manchester.

Going so far as to state that the deal is now in place, he claims that Maresca will sign a three-year deal with Man City.

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Obviously, this is all still pending an official announcement by the club, which may now be moving up their plans for an official reveal since they have now confirmed that Pep will be departing as reported earlier this month.

According to The Athletic‘s Sam Lee, who was part of the outlet’s team that helped break the story alongside David Ornstein, the 46-year-old has been earmarked for the top job for more than half a decade, as it turns out.

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He states that former City Football Group exec and director of football, Txiki Begiristain, already believed Maresca could follow in the Spaniard’s footseps back in 2020.

MCFC have now shared an emotional farewell video following the news most have been dreading. Tissues at the ready, Blues…

The 46-year-old has gone on to win the likes of the Championship, UEFA Conference League title and a FIFA Club World Cup in his last two jobs at Leicester and Chelsea, respectively, barring his very first stint at Parma in 2021 when he missed out getting his side promoted.

Yes, it’s also worth reminding that Maresca has already worked as part of the staff at the Etihad Campus, not only leading their Elite Development Squad (EDS) of U23s players, but also being part of the backroom staff alongside the serial winner, serving as an assistant coach in 2022.

Safe to say that Maresca has quickly gone on to be one of the most promising managerial prospects in a relatively short space of time, and was even linked with being both the England boss and a rival position for Manchester United at one point or another.

It’s only a matter of time until we find out if/for how long he gets the job following Pep Guardiola’s contract expiration (he still technically has a year left, by the way), but he’ll have quite the job on to better his predecessor.

Would you be happy with the appointment, Blues? More crucially, perhaps, are you ready to say farewell to your greatest-ever manager?

His footballing inspirations are plain to see.

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Featured Images — Sky Sports (via YouTube)Steffen Prößdorf/Timfilbert (via WikiCommons)

The Script are back and have announced a HUGE arena gig in Manchester this year

Thomas Melia Thomas Melia

Boyband and radio hitmakers The Script are coming to Manchester and are playing out in the UK’s biggest arena with a big support act.

‘For the First Time’ in their career, The Script are playing their biggest ever live show right here in Manchester at 23,500 seater Co-op Live.

This Irish-based band have soundtracked generations with their hits spanning two decades including ‘Hall of Fame’, ‘Breakeven’, ‘Superheroes’ and more.

Consisting of lead vocalist Danny O’Donoghue with Benjamin Seargent on bass, guitarist Ben Weaver and drummer Adam Marcello, their music fuses pop and rock.

The Script has released three albums that have topped both UK and Ireland charts, as well as four Top 10 singles and they’re hoping to reign supreme on the charts once more with upcoming LP The User’s Guide to Being Human.

Although the full album doesn’t drop until August, Danny and the rest of the lads have just released a new single titled ‘Man In The Arena’.

There’s even a nod to the Northern music scene on the tracklist as one of the upcoming releases is labelled ‘The Crowd Was Singing Wonderwall’.

Other tracks on this LP include ‘Living Our Life Without Me’, ‘I’m 100 Different People’ and a song that’s sure to get a few tears out of all of us – ‘Grow Old with Grace’.

As well as announcing this new run of shows set for winter 2026, The Script are joining Take That on a stadium tour titled The Circus Live across June and July.

Joining The Script on their latest UK tour this Winter is James Morrison known for similar ballad-like hits including ‘Broken Strings’ and ‘Wonderful World’.

The Script UK tour dates

  • Mon 2 November – Belfast, UK – SSE Arena
  • Thu 5 November – Newcastle, UK – Utilita Arena
  • Fri 6 November – Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena
  • Sat 7 November – Manchester, UK – Co-op Live
  • Mon 9 November – Nottingham, UK – Motorpoint Arena
  • Tue 10 November – Leeds, UK – First Direct Bank Arena
  • Thu 12 November – Aberdeen, UK – P&J Live
  • Fri 13 November – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
  • Sat 14 November – Sheffield, UK – Utilita Arena
  • Mon 16 November – Bournemouth, UK – Bournemouth International Centre
  • Thu 19 November – Liverpool, UK – M&S Bank Arena
  • Sat 21 November – London, UK – The O2

The Script are visiting Co-op Live on Saturday 7 November 2026 for their The Man In The Arena Tour with tickets and more info HERE.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Image – Publicity Picture (Supplied)

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