Ghana international Antoine Semenyo says he is excited by Enzo Maresca’s attacking philosophy at Manchester City, believing the Italian’s tactical approach is perfectly suited to his strengths as a winger.
Semenyo impressed in Maresca’s first game in charge against Inter Milan during City’s pre-season tour, providing an assist for youngster Divine Mukasa during his 45-minute outing.
The Black Stars forward revealed that Maresca’s preference for giving wingers freedom in one-on-one situations was one of the first things that caught his attention after the Italian was appointed.
“When he got appointed, that was the first thing I thought about because when you’ve played Chelsea previously when he was there, his wide men were always high and quite free,” Semenyo said.
“I get to have one-v-one situations most of the game and I am looking forward to it.”
The 26-year-old also disclosed that he has already held individual discussions with Maresca to better understand his responsibilities in the team’s new system.
“I have had individual meetings with him on how he wants to set up, how he wants to play his wide men and just overall as a team.”
Semenyo believes Maresca’s ideas share similarities with Pep Guardiola’s philosophy but give attacking players greater freedom to create from wide areas.
“His ideas are great, quite similar to Pep. Enzo is just [stay] out wide and when you get the ball, just create opportunities. So it is music to my ears.”
After joining Manchester City in a £65 million move earlier this year, Semenyo will be hoping to become a key figure in Maresca’s new-look side as the Premier League champions prepare for the 2026/27 season.
