Ndiaye on joining City: 'Who doesn't want to be here?'

If you queued Manchester City vs Coventry live on Saturday looking for a new face in the sky blue, Iliman Ndiaye’s first words as a City player were as direct as the 1-0 result.

Quoted by Fabrizio Romano after the match, Ndiaye said: “It’s one of the biggest clubs in the world, who doesn't want to be here?!” He added that you play to win trophies and that the goal in every game is to win them. The winger started at the Etihad in a side that beat Coventry 1-0 through Erling Haaland’s 26th-minute header.

It was a debut weekend at both ends of the midfield. Enzo Fernández also started after Nico O’Reilly picked up a physical issue in the warm-up — already covered separately as squad news. Head coach Enzo Maresca, asked about City’s midfield depth, said competing clubs need options and that he is happy with the options City have, pointing out Arsenal and others are in the same position.

Live soccer on TV

City sit top of the Premier League on nine points after three matches. Viewers hunting where to watch the next Etihad or away date should use official Premier League live stream and linear listings for their market. No new broadcaster change was announced with Ndiaye’s comments.

Ndiaye’s quote does not rewrite the starting XI. It does tell soccer games today searchers why the new forward line is being sold internally as a trophy project rather than a rotation experiment. Haaland remains the finishing reference; Ndiaye’s role on debut was to stretch the right side while City managed 78 percent possession against promoted Coventry.

Maresca’s public line was depth, not a pecking order. Until the next official squad list drops, Ndiaye is a starter who has already spoken on the record about why he chose the club. That is the hard news. Treat anything beyond those sentences as colour, not a forecast for the next City vs opponent live scoreline.

Photo: Abdulvahap Demir / Pexels