Manchester City working on TWO new appointments to Pep Guardiola’s coaching staff including Juanma Lillo return

Former Manchester City assistant coach Juanma Lillo could be set for a return to Pep Guardiola’s staff, as the club look to replace the departed Enzo Maresca.

Manchester City are once again looking to fill a vacancy within the first-team coaching staff, after Enzo Maresca left the club to become the new manager of Leicester City, replacing the sacked Brendan Rodgers at the King Power Stadium.

The Italian becomes the fourth member of Guardiola’s coaching staff to leave the Etihad Stadium for a managerial role, following Mikel Arteta, Domènec Torrent and most recently Juanma Lillo, who moved to Qatar last year.

Lillo, a close friend of Guardiola’s, was pictured with the City manager at the UEFA Champions League Final this month, and also provided coaching support for the semi-final against Real Madrid.

The experienced coach spent two years at the Etihad Stadium between 2020 and 2022, and according to reports by both Alvaro de Grado and Pol Ballus, Manchester City are now working on bringing Lillo back to Manchester City, following the departure of Maresca.

The 57 year-old is currently in charge at Al Sadd in Qatar, and despite being contracted at the club until next year, The Athletic report that Manchester City are ‘hopeful’ of agreeing a compensation package with the Qatari club.

Lillo is claimed to have an exit clause within his contract, which must be triggered in order for the coach to be able to leave.

It is further reported by The Athletic that Lillo’s assistant coach in Qatar, Inigo Dominguez, could also move from Al Sadd to Guardiola’s coaching staff for the new campaign.

Dominguez has worked alongside Lillo on two occasions, and has been an assistant coach at Real Sociedad, Sevilla and Marseille.

Meanwhile, Lillo helped Manchester City to two Premier League titles, and his coaching portfolio includes coaching the Chile national team and working under Jorge Sampaoli.