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Man City set to promote exciting talent to Enzo Maresca squad Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca is set to make use of the academy talent on offer to him at the Etihad Manchester City are set to make Ryan McAidoo part of the first team squad with Enzo Maresca this season after the youngster impressed coaches this summer. McAidoo only played a half in one friendly on the pre-season tour but showed enough before getting injured that he has what Maresca is looking for. The 18-year-old, who joined Chelsea's academy in 2024, was one of the standout players in City's youth set-up last season and scored on his senior debut in the FA Cup against Exeter. He trained regularly with Pep Guardiola and Pep Lijnders, and has been subject to enquiries from a number of different clubs this summer looking to take him either on loan or permanently. Maresca said that City would decide on the short-term future of many of their youngsters when they returned from Manchester. A number of loans have already been sorted, but the City boss is clear that McAidoo should stay with the first team this season to best continue his development. "Pre-season can sometimes be a bit tricky because you can fall in love with players," said Maresca. "And then during the season they are not the same. Pre-season is good because they need to work hard and they need to understand that we need to know each other. Always you need to give the right time. "The pre-season has been good for some players but now when the real business starts, we need to see again. One of the surprises has been Ryan McAidoo, which nobody expected. He was very good. "For him the best thing is to stay with us, to learn and be around the first team every day. Try to be intelligent, try to learn from Antoine and Jeremy. When I say try to learn, it’s not in terms of how to dribble – it’s about working hard because it can be difficult with young players, they can stop working because they feel they are ready when they are not."