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- Manchester City will travel to east Asia for Enzo Maresca’s first games in charge as manager
- Some players remain on holiday after a gruelling FIFA World Cup campaign in North America
- City face Inter, K-League All Stars XI & Atletico Madrid before Arsenal in the Community Shield
Manchester City are set to travel to east Asia with a stronger-than-expected squad as Enzo Maresca takes charge of his first pre-season tour as manager.
The 46-year-old has been working with an initial group at the City Football Academy since pre-season training began on 20 July, with the extended rest periods required for World Cup participants from four nations shaping the composition of the squad available for the trip considerably.
It was reported earlier this week that City players from England, Norway, Spain and France will not travel to Asia, with those nations’ deep runs – including Spain’s World Cup triumph and England’s third-place finish – pushing return dates for several key figures into mid-August at the earliest.
City are required to give players a minimum of three weeks’ rest following their individual exit from the tournament, a period the club has extended to four weeks for most of those involved, meaning the touring squad reflects a carefully managed balance between preparation and player welfare.
The result is a travelling party that carries more genuine first-team quality than the volume of World Cup absentees might suggest, with a group of senior internationals who exited the tournament at the Round of 32 having returned in time to make the trip east alongside a core of players who had no involvement at the World Cup at all.
Man City’s east Asia 28-man tour squad – by position
Gianluigi Donnarumma, Marcus Bettinelli, Max Chabot, Jack Wint.
Rico Lewis, Matty Henderson-Hall, Max Alleyne, Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis, Stephen Mfuni, Josko Gvardiol, Kaden Braithwaite, Rayan Ait-Nouri.
Nico Gonzalez, Mateo Kovacic, Tijjani Reijnders, Xavier Parker, Floyd Samba, Jaden Heskey, Divine Mukasa, Ryan McAidoo, Claudio Echeverri, Phil Foden.
Antoine Semenyo, Savinho, Mahamadou Sangare, Divin Mubama, Jeremy Monga.
What does the east Asia tour mean for Enzo Maresca and Manchester City?
The three fixtures – against Inter in Hong Kong on 1 August, K-League All Stars XI in Seoul on 5 August and Atletico Madrid on 9 August – provide Maresca with competitive opposition at a stage of pre-season where tactical coherence matters more than results, with the manager having spoken publicly about focusing on the day-to-day rather than the final destination.
The composition of the touring party gives Maresca a different kind of challenge from the one he will face once the full group returns from the World Cup in August – managing a blend of senior players, fringe figures and development talent.
The return of City’s core internationals upon landing back in England will mark the real beginning of Maresca’s pre-season, with the Community Shield against Arsenal on 16 August and the Premier League opener against Bournemouth on 23 August coming into sharper focus once the groundwork laid in Asia has been assessed and built upon.
For director of football Hugo Viana, the tour also provides a window to observe players in competitive conditions as outstanding transfer business continues across both incoming and outgoing fronts before the window closes and the new season begins in earnest at the Etihad Stadium.
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Source: Cityxtra.co.uk
