Enzo Maresca has said Manchester City will replace Rodri in the same way the club has previously moved on from other iconic players.

The Spain midfielder completed a move to Barcelona this week after spending seven years as a hugely important figure at the Etihad Stadium.

Rodri had himself stepped into the role previously occupied by Brazilian midfielder Fernandinho, who was an inspirational presence during his spell at City.

Speaking before Sunday’s Premier League opener against Bournemouth, Maresca said the club has repeatedly shown it can successfully replace top players.

“Try to find the new Rodri, it is what it is,” he said when asked about replacing the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner.

“Rodri, when he arrived here hadn’t won the Ballon d’Or, the Champions League or the Club World Cup.

“When he joined the club and after he achieved many important things. Now the target for us is to try to find the new Rodri.

“I was thinking last night when David Silva was here, [people were] worried, Kevin [De Bruyne] arrived.

“When Aguero was here, everyone was worried, Erling arrived. Fernandino? Rodri arrived. It’s just about this.

“When they leave we need to recruit the next one. Last night I was thinking about that, it’s normal, it’s a change, it’s not a problem go again and try.”

Maresca also expects more transfer activity before the window closes on 1 September.

Although the final shape of his squad will not be fully known until then, he confirmed that three Academy players who impressed on the pre-season tour of Asia will stay with the first-team squad.

“Kaden [Braithwaite], Floyd Samba and Ryan McAidoo are going to be with us. We need around 20 players plus those three players full of energy. We are happy.”

He added that many Premier League clubs are dealing with a similar degree of uncertainty over how their squads will look.

“I think it’s a similar situation for most clubs and fans,” Maresca said.

“We are waiting to do things. The normal thing in the transfer window is you have to wait until the last week, because all the clubs try to keep players until the last, so it’s normal.

“I’m not worried about that. When the transfer window closes and we have all the squad here, for sure it will be different.”