Enzo Maresca says Omar Marmoush’s future at Manchester City remains undecided, while confirming Jeremy Doku is expected to miss two to three weeks with a calf problem.
Marmoush is still with City and has not asked to leave, unlike Brazil international Savinho, who Maresca says made his desire to depart clear from the day he arrived.
Tottenham Hotspur have reached an agreement with Manchester City to sign Savinho during the current summer transfer window, in a deal that could eventually be worth £85m.
Maresca also revealed that Tottenham are in advanced discussions to sign Marmoush. The London club have reportedly agreed personal terms with the Egypt forward, although negotiations between the two clubs over the fee and structure of the transfer are continuing.
Asked about Marmoush’s situation at his pre-match news conference before Sunday’s Premier League opener against Bournemouth at the Etihad Stadium, Maresca said: “I don’t know. Omar is still here, he is still with us. He is different from Savinho, so we will see what happens.”
He added: “Usually, things are complicated when a player leaves and you need to sign a replacement. We will see whether Omar stays or not, because if someone leaves, someone has to come in.”
Maresca said the distinction between the two players was their attitude towards leaving.
“From day one, Savinho asked to leave, while Omar Marmoush did not ask to leave from day one,” he said.
The manager also explained that players who have not featured regularly can become more likely to seek moves elsewhere.
“With the exception of Rodri, they all have one thing in common: they have not played many games. When players do not play, they prefer to leave,” said Maresca.
“The players I mentioned, apart from Rodri, are all players who have not had many opportunities to play, for different reasons.”
Savinho’s proposed move to Tottenham is therefore expected to be one of the key developments during the remaining 10 days of the transfer window. Maresca said Manchester City did not have a fixed number of signings in mind.
“We do not have a minimum or maximum number of signings. It depends on some circumstances,” he said. “We know exactly what we need and we will see what happens in the next 10 days. We have 10 days and hopefully we can carry out what we are planning.”
Maresca refused to discuss reports linking City with Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez, insisting it would be disrespectful to comment on a player who does not represent his club.
“Unfortunately, I always have to answer in the same way: Enzo is a Chelsea player and I will not talk about players who are not part of our squad,” he said. “I think it is disrespectful, and I do not like it when other managers talk about our players.”
Doku’s injury adds to the immediate selection issues ahead of the meeting with Bournemouth. The winger complained of calf pain at half-time in City’s most recent match and was withdrawn as planned.
“During the last game, Doku complained at half-time about some pain in his calf muscle,” Maresca said. “We did not want him to play more than 45 minutes, so the decision to replace him had already been planned. The current estimate is that he will be out for between two and three weeks, and no longer than that.”
Maresca said he had watched Bournemouth during pre-season and monitored some of their matches from last season. He expects Andoni Iraola’s side to maintain an aggressive identity.
“I also watched their pre-season game, as well as some of their games last season. You can clearly see their identity; they are a team with an attacking style of play and intense pressing,” he said.
“They were like that under Andoni Iraola, and they still are. It is completely clear what they do, whether they have the ball or not.”
Looking ahead to the start of the new season, Maresca said City were eager to begin their campaign at home.
“I feel very excited to start this new chapter and this new journey,” he said. “Our aim is to continue along the same path that we have followed over the past 10 or 15 years, so we are very happy finally to play our first game at home.”
