Manchester City 'want former academy coach Enzo Maresca' to be Pep Guardiola's new assistant manager

Manchester City want former academy coach Enzo Maresca to be Pep Guardiola's new assistant, according to The Mirror.

The position as Guardiola's No.2 has become available after the club announced on Friday that Juanma Lillo would be leaving the Etihad to pursue a new venture as manager of Qatari club Al-Saad.

And now it seems that the Premier League champions will turn to a familiar face ahead of the upcoming season, with Maresca the frontrunner to join Guardiola in the dugout.

The 42-year-old coach left City last year after spending a season as the club's Elite Development Squad manager - guiding the side to a Premier League 2 title victory.

Maresca decided to leave Manchester to become first team coach of Serie A side Parma but was sacked in November with the side three points above the relegation playoff zone.

Despite this, the former West Brom and Juventus player is still well regarded by Guardiola and his staff and is likely to make a return to the Etihad this season.

Maresca also played at Bologna and Fiorentina before going on to work at Sevilla, Escoli and West Ham all before joining the Citizens.

On Friday, the Premier League champions announced that current assistant Juanma Lillo would be leaving the club to become manager of Qatari side Al-Saad.

The Spaniard joined City in June 2020 to fill the gap left by Mikel Arteta's departure to Arsenal.

Speaking to the club website, Lillo said: 'To work alongside Pep (Guardiola), his backroom staff and this group of players has been a pleasure and I hope to have contributed in a small way to the fantastic success we have enjoyed on the pitch.'