Enzo Maresca will put pen to paper on a three-year deal when he succeeds Pep Guardiola as Manchester City boss, according to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano.
Guardiola is reportedly set to step down as City head coach at the end of the season, bringing an end to a 10-year spell at the Etihad Stadium helm.
City still have two games to play before the campaign draws to a close as they take on Bournemouth on Tuesday night before the welcome of Aston Villa on the final day of the season.
Villa match set to be Guardiola's last at City
And the welcome of Villa is now set to be Guardiola’s final game in charge of the Cityzens.
The Spaniard will hope to do so as a Premier League champion, though they have a five-point gap to make up between themselves and Arsenal, who took a huge step towards a first title in over 20 years with a 1-0 win over Burnley on Monday night.
Maresca is now being tipped to sign a City contract through to 2029 having been out of work since his Chelsea departure at the turn of the year.
The Italian was shown the Stamford Bridge exit on New Year’s Day following a disagreement with the board.
'Here We Go'
On Tuesday morning, Romano all but confirmed that a deal to take Maresca back to the Etihad Stadium was in place.
“BREAKING: Enzo Maresca has a total verbal agreement with Manchester City, HERE WE GO!” Romano posted on X.
“The Italian manager has always been considered the ideal candidate to replace Pep Guardiola.
“Deal in place and Maresca will sign an initial three year deal at #MCFC
“New era, soon.”
Maresca's Man City history
Maresca has previous with City having managed the club’s Elite Development Squad back in the 2020-21 season, guiding them to the Premier League 2 title.
The 46-year-old left Manchester to take over as Parma head coach in May 2021, but was dismissed later that year.
He returned to the Premier League side as one of Guardiola’s assistants in 2022, yet again left after a year as he took over the Leicester reins before his appointment as Chelsea head coach in 2023.
