Enzo Maresca: Academy trio promoted to Man City senior squad

Standfirst

• Enzo Maresca permanently promotes three academy players to Manchester City’s first-team squad after assessing 16 youth prospects during pre-season.
• Ryan McAidoo, Kaden Braithwaite and Floyd Samba step up, with Braithwaite becoming City’s third-youngest ever debutant.
• Maresca sets fixed behavioural rules for prospects who drop back to youth football, a contrast with Pep Guardiola’s banishment of one academy player last season, according to the Manchester Evening News.

Man City academy promotions: how it happened

Enzo Maresca has permanently promoted three academy players to Manchester City’s first-team squad. The head coach reached his decision after assessing 16 youth prospects during pre-season, confirming Ryan McAidoo, Kaden Braithwaite and Floyd Samba as senior players. He trained the trio alongside his first-team squad throughout the summer, rather than handing them a single one-off run-out.

McAidoo’s route is the longest of the three. He joined City’s academy from Chelsea two years ago and scored on his senior debut against Exeter. Maresca has already described the winger’s directness, a trait he says defines what City want from young players moving up.

“He’s the kind of winger that I love because he’s not scared,” said Maresca, quoted by the Manchester Evening News. “He wants the ball, he always wants to be aggressive 1 vs 1. Sometimes you see a winger that receives the ball there and plays back, and Ryan goes forward.”

McAidoo’s work off the ball drew notice too. Pep Lijnders, quoted by the Manchester Evening News, called his pressing after the Exeter goal “insane”. That description fits a squad built on relentless intensity without the ball.

Braithwaite’s promotion carries historical weight. He is now the third-youngest player to debut for City, behind only Glyn Pardoe and Paul Simpson. Both men made their bows decades ago. Samba’s path is more recent: he signed his first professional contract in August. He and Braithwaite both started City’s 3-1 UEFA Youth League defeat to Porto for the Under-19s, showing Maresca had been watching the pair closely all season.

The expert angle: non-negotiable standards and physical edge

Maresca’s message on age is consistent and blunt. “When the young players are good, it’s not the age that closes or opens the door – if they are good they will work with us,” he said, quoted by the Manchester Evening News. That standard explains why three players with different backgrounds have all cleared the same bar this summer.

The harder test comes when a promoted player drops back to youth or second-team football, something all three may still do this season. Maresca insists status earned in first-team training cannot excuse a lapse in application further down the club.

“It’s how they behave and then perform in the right way. We pay attention to the way they behave and perform, when they drop they need to be good examples to the others,” Maresca said, quoted by the Manchester Evening News.

He goes further on supervision, confirming that senior staff keep tabs on the players even when they are out of his direct daily view.

“For sure they need to be good, then in terms of attitude. If they drop to the second team, there is always one of my staff in charge of them,” Maresca said, quoted by the Manchester Evening News.

That policy sits in sharp contrast with events under Pep Guardiola last season. According to reporting from the Manchester Evening News, Guardiola permanently banished an unnamed emerging academy player from first-team training over poor application. The message is clear: attitude, not just ability, decides whether a young player stays in the picture at City.

Braithwaite’s boxing regime

Physical readiness matters just as much as behaviour. Braithwaite has taken up boxing classes to sharpen his aggression in one-on-one duels. It is a targeted response to the physical demands of first-team football, not a general fitness exercise. Maresca appears willing to reward that kind of individual work with senior involvement, provided standards elsewhere hold up.

What happens next

None of the three has a fixture guaranteed. Their new status secures a permanent place in the senior squad, not a promise of minutes. Maresca’s own words make clear that continued involvement depends on training and behaviour, not the calendar. Further movement between the first team and the Under-19s remains likely, given Samba and Braithwaite were both involved in the Youth League squad against Porto as recently as this season.

What is fixed is the reporting line. A member of Maresca’s staff will monitor each player whenever they drop back to second-team or youth fixtures. That keeps the head coach informed on attitude as well as performance. With 16 players assessed over pre-season, McAidoo, Braithwaite and Samba are only the first wave. City’s coaching staff are likely to revisit the wider group as the campaign develops.

For the full background on how the promotions were confirmed, see our full report on the academy promotions. The quotes and behavioural detail in this piece are drawn from reporting from the Manchester Evening News.

Follow all the latest: Football live: Premier League 2026/27 news, transfers and updates.