Manchester City fans watched Ayyoub Bouaddi make his full debut in the Premier League on Saturday, and Enzo Maresca now has a very interesting situation on his hands.

Manchester City made it seven wins out of seven in the Premier League, defeating newly promoted Ipswich Town 3-2 at the Etihad Stadium.

Erling Haaland scored two more goals, with Phil Foden also finally getting on the scoresheet in the Premier League for the first time since scoring against Crystal Palace last December.

Haaland made headlines with his brace, as did Enzo Maresca for becoming the first Premier League manager in history to win his first seven games. There was also the usual narrative from many neutrals about how City should be punished immediately after their guilty verdict, despite the appeal process needing to take its course.

But one man who deserves some headlines is Ayyoub Bouaddi, who should now have given his manager a lot to think about.

Ayyoub Bouaddi shone vs Ipswich

Some felt there was a good chance for Bouaddi to start against Ipswich, after he had come on at half-time against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday and helped change the momentum.

And he was given the chance to make his full Premier League debut against Ipswich – and Bouaddi, of course, delivered.

The 19-year-old put up some superb numbers, which included:

It was another mature performance from Bouaddi, who is regularly giving the impression that he is much older than his actual 19 years – and this presents an interesting dilemma for Maresca.

He is obviously still young and years away from his peak. But he is already showing such a high level, and appears completely unfazed when he plays, despite also having to contend with knowing he cost so much money.

The impact he made against PSG was extraordinary, and against Ipswich again he was so composed. The dribble he made to get away from three players towards the end of the game was just brilliant.

There has been some talk about City’s midfield lacking balance when Elliot Anderson, Enzo Fernandez and Rayan Cherki all play. There has been particular emphasis on Cherki, as good as he is, because he doesn’t track back so much and lacks the defensive work-rate of, say, a Bernardo Silva.

Bouaddi potentially brings a better balance, and that will make things difficult for Maresca.

What Maresca said about Bouaddi

After the win over Ipswich, Maresca sang Bouaddi’s praises but made sure not to go overboard. He said: “Not bad, eh? I think a manager is always looking to find minutes and space for good players – and Ayyoub is very good.

“Again, he’s very young, coming from France, so we also need to help him and not put him under pressure [by playing] every game, every game, every game. He needs a path and I think he’s doing well.”

Maresca also gave a particularly encouraging verdict earlier this week, saying Bouaddi helps other players around him. He said (via Manchester Evening News): “And the good thing about him is that when he is on the pitch, he helps the players around him to improve as well, and that is the mark of top players. The players moving around them become better, and that is the impression I have of Ayyoub.”

The Italian is clearly a fan to have given him 332 minutes so far, but one would imagine he will start to see more involvement from here on in. Despite his tender years, he is simply too good a player to be leaving out.