To understand how Rodri, Anderson and someone like Bouaddi might come together, it is key to understand Maresca’s game model.
As a disciple of positional play, he draws comparisons between his football and chess.
“There are a lot of similarities,” Maresca said. “The most important is positional play and strategy.
“For a coach, it’s important to have the mentality of a chess player: develop a plan, study counter-moves, choose the arrangement of the pieces.”
Maresca’s strategy has largely been rooted in an on-the-ball shape that looks like a 3-2-2-3.
One of Rodri’s most useful qualities in a Maresca side would be his ability to move between these predefined positions on the pitch.
Throughout the World Cup, for example, we saw him drop into the backline when former City team-mate Aymeric Laporte pushed up with the ball.
Naturally, Rodri spent most of the game in a holding midfield position, but when space opened up he was more than capable of pushing forward too.