Ahead of the Manchester Derby this weekend, the Manchester Evening News held a fan Q&A addressing Manchester City's squad composition, the use of young players, and transfer-related topics. Questions covered the potential playing time for Akanji and McAdoo, Enzo's role in the team, and reactions to rumors about Echeverri's loan move to Benfica.

Why hasn't Akanji played yet?

First, I must apologize on behalf of my editors. Normally I select these questions myself, but this week they chose them "thoughtfully" for me without leaving the questioners' names, so I cannot address anyone directly.

And given Manchester City's current start to the season, all these questions do sound somewhat frustrated. Nevertheless, we want to answer them.

Akanji hasn't played yet because he isn't ready. He had a minor issue following his transfer, so the team decided not to risk using him against Coventry. Semenyo continued as a winger in every match as before, while Ndiaye made his debut. Ndiaye was physically fit and had trained and played with Everton in the same league, so his inclusion was a very natural choice.

Next came an away match against Porto, one of Manchester City's most difficult Champions League away fixtures this season. So it was also unsurprising that Maresca, although Akanji was available, needed immediate results and decided not to use him. I don't expect Akanji to play in the Manchester Derby, but we could see him in the League Cup against Norwich.

Transfer fees don't tell the whole story, but the fee Manchester City paid for Akanji could give anyone a more realistic idea of how much playing time he can expect this season. He's a young player who just arrived from another continent with limited experience. Doku, Semenyo, and Ndiaye are all significantly more expensive than him, and Phil Foden and Rayan Cherki are far more established.

So Akanji will initially join the team as a rotation player. If he wants to displace some of these players from the starting XI and secure a consistent starting spot, he'll need to perform exceptionally well.

Why don't young players like McAdoo get opportunities?

Nearly every point from the answer about Akanji also applies to Ryan McAdoo. The only difference is that McAdoo is an 18-year-old academy player, while Akanji is a slightly older young player from Brazil. And McAdoo has actually had opportunities. He played against Crystal Palace and performed well, then came on late against Coventry.

If playing time in two of the first three Premier League matches this season doesn't count as an opportunity, I can only say expectations are too high. At least by Guardiola's previous standards for using young players, that certainly cannot be said.

McAdoo and Braithwaite have both now received league minutes, which is a very positive sign. You would expect them to get more playing time when Manchester City faces Norwich.

Has Maresca done anything to prevent opponents from breaking through our midfield easily?

I think because Maresca wants the team to play very proactively and emphasizes attacking strongly, Manchester City could be vulnerable to opponents getting behind them all season. However, there's a belief within the first team that the team will become more compact overall as these new players gradually adapt to their positions and roles.

We still don't know what the best midfield combination is. I think different matches will require different decisions.

Because if Bouaddi, Elliott-Anderson, and Enzo all play, then Rayan Cherki and Phil Foden essentially don't play, and that obviously can't always happen. Maresca has introduced a new pressing system for the entire team, and they're still finding their rhythm together. At the same time, he's also set out a specific approach for how defenders should build play from the back.

Whether these adjustments will ultimately make Manchester City more compact, or at least more compact than now, remains to be seen.

But on the other hand, this is the first time in a decade that Manchester City is entering a new phase under a different manager, and there are now more young players in the squad. This new phase has only just begun with four matches played, so it's not at all surprising that every aspect of the team isn't yet perfectly refined.

What role will Enzo play in the team? Will his arrival negatively affect Cherki or Foden? Is it possible to see Anderson, Enzo, and Cherki together in the starting XI?

I suppose if Cherki and Foden feel they don't need to play because their minutes are threatened, then Enzo's arrival could certainly have a negative effect on them. From what it looks like, however, Enzo seems more likely to play further forward rather than in a deeper midfield role. When Maresca spoke about him on Friday, he focused on how many goals and assists he could contribute.

But his arrival certainly intensifies competition for those positions at Manchester City and significantly strengthens squad depth.

Anderson, Enzo, and Cherki will definitely start together in at least one match, but don't forget that Bouaddi and Foden also need to be accommodated in the lineup. All positions are currently open, so players need to deliver performances to keep their places.

Bouaddi, who just arrived, has already spoken about this sense of competition. The key question is whether players will raise their performance in response to such competition or react negatively. Guardiola used this competition effectively for many years.

Is Semenyo really helping the team?

Of course he is, don't be ridiculous. Are we talking about the player who set up the team's first goal in two consecutive league matches?

So in two of the three league matches this season, he's contributed to the team scoring first, right?

In other words, that's 67% of the league matches this season. If you want to be precise about it. And now someone's asking if he's actually helping the team?

I'm sorry, I really don't understand the question. Of course he can do more. His performance against Porto midweek was actually very poor. But he has the ability to score goals, and based on his actual goal and assist record, his performance is top-class.

Moreover, he's now one of the more experienced players in the squad. After his January transfer, he quickly took on responsibility. Besides, he's one of the few players in Manchester City's squad who can say they've scored at Old Trafford...

I've seen reports that Manchester City loaned Echeverri to Benfica with Manchester City covering his full wages and also including a purchase option for Benfica. Is that accurate? Is Manchester City really so desperate to get rid of him?

Don't believe everything you read. You can, however, believe everything in these Q&As. Except, of course, what I said before the transfer window closed, when I got it badly wrong.

But I should still congratulate this anonymous reader. When I asked someone from Manchester City's recruitment team about it, you got one of them to laugh. Manchester City isn't usually the club that would pay a player's full wages just to loan them out.

Since I hadn't seen the original report and didn't want to comment without understanding the situation, I had it specifically checked. Now I can tell you with certainty that this claim is very far from the truth.

As for the so-called purchase option, it doesn't mean much in itself, because whether the purchase option is ultimately exercised still requires the agreement of all relevant parties. But I can say this: Echeverri's market value is now actually much lower than it was last season.

Last summer the club received numerous offers for him, but he didn't follow Manchester City's advice and chose a loan to Bayer Leverkusen, which turned out to be a very unsuccessful experience. In the second half of the season he went to Girona, but things weren't much better. He didn't perform particularly well in preseason either. A loan to Benfica could be very good for him, but this Argentine player cannot afford to slip out of sight there or fail to get consistent playing time.

Übersetzt von KI.

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