The possibility of Maresca raiding his former club Chelsea has started to become a talking point within football circles and could develop into one of the more intriguing storylines of the summer transfer window.
Fernandez’s long-term future at Stamford Bridge has been the subject of increasing uncertainty ever since he received an internal suspension after comments that appeared to hint at a desire to join Real Madrid.
The Spanish giants are the club most consistently linked with the Argentina midfielder, although Flashscore sources continue to indicate that Chelsea have reservations over whether such a deal is financially realistic this summer because of their valuation.
Chelsea paid Benfica £106.8million to sign Fernandez, and would be seeking a figure above that if they were to consider selling him.
That valuation could prove prohibitive even for Europe’s elite clubs, but there remains a possibility that City assess the situation closely once Maresca is formally confirmed as Guardiola’s successor.
Fernandez is admired across Europe for his technical quality, press resistance and ability to dictate tempo from midfield, attributes that would naturally appeal to City as they prepare for life after Guardiola.
The interest is intriguing but it would not be expected to impact City’s pursuit of Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson.
Flashscore has previously reported that City are increasingly confident they will win the race to sign Anderson ahead of Manchester United, and that remains the expectation internally despite growing competition for the player’s signature.
City are set to announce Maresca as their new manager after Guardiola took charge of the club for the final time on Sunday.
They remain determined to show that Guardiola’s departure will not signal the end of their dominance and have already made it clear they intend to continue investing heavily in the squad this summer.
And Maresca is being included in the planning phase for future transfer targets as he prepares to take over.