Fernández joined City from Chelsea on deadline day and has made a big impact in his first two games as we’ve seen off Coventry in the Premier League and Porto in the Champions League.
Maresca worked with the Argentine 2022 World Cup winner at Stamford Bridge and says his strong leadership and winning mentality are key parts of his makeup as a player.
And the boss believes they’re going to vital as the team plots success this season.
“Absolutely,” said the manager when asked if Fernández’s winning mentality was one of the reasons for the Blues signing him.
“And you can see how the team-mates speak on him in terms of a winner mentality.
“I always say the same that players who already won know how to win and it’s important they are in our squad.
“But also it’s about working hard every day, he’s polite, he’s working good, it’s what we need.”
Maresca also spoke of the midfielder’s evolution on the pitch over the past few years and how his more deep-lying instincts have now been supplemented with mischief in the attacking third.
“He’s improving a lot,” the boss added.
“Probably in last two years with us he became more of an attacking midfielder, in the past he was a little bit more deep.
“He is unbelievable around the box in terms of goals and in terms assists.
“And also in terms of leadership he is growing a lot.”
Watch the press conference in the video player above.
