New season, new Manchester City. And, if it all goes well, old Phil Foden. The best season of his career was followed by the worst. And yet, in the curiosity of a tournament that belonged fully to neither one season nor the other, there were hints he was returning towards the kind of form that saw him named Footballer of the Year. The Club World Cup may offer a long-term benefit to City if it provides a shift in momentum for Foden.
“I wouldn’t say [my] absolute best but I was definitely feeling a lot sharper, I managed to score a couple of goals as well,” he said. Three, to be precise, the last his best; his 100th for City came in the 4-3 defeat to Al Hilal and was special.
Some 27 of that century came in 2023-24. If Foden could return to that brilliance, it may be particularly timely.
Even as City have had an influx of players, several of them attack-minded midfielders, arguably the greatest in their history has left. One theory for years was that, despite their differences, Foden was the successor in waiting to Kevin De Bruyne, another that Pep Guardiola could not really build a team around him while the Belgian was around and instrumental.
Will he now? “I am not sure where the manager sees me this year,” said Foden, awaiting a discussion with Guardiola. “I can play in different positions but we all know my position is the insides, in the pockets, so let’s see what happens. I am not here to replicate what Kev did because we all know how good he was and what he did for the club. It is about trying my best, getting to the level where I won player of the year, I want to get back to that.”
If he does, it will be in a different context, a different team. City have had a £300m makeover in 2025, four recruits in the winter window being followed by six in the summer transfer market – even if one of those arrivals, Vitor Reis, is being loaned to Girona and another, Sverre Nypan, could also depart to get first-team football for the season.
City had 26 players in training on Tuesday, too many for Guardiola’s liking, even with three others injured. Foden is unsure even if the dressing room at the Etihad Stadium is large enough to accommodate them all.
Yet he felt the overhaul was necessary. As stalwarts of one great side, such as De Bruyne and Kyle Walker, are gone, as Jack Grealish is surplus to requirements, City are stuffed with arrivals, the summer influx of Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Cherki, Rayan Ait-Nouri and James Trafford following earlier deals for players such as Omar Marmoush and Nico Gonzalez.
Foden felt City required newcomers. “It always gets to a time when any club needs to add new players and freshen things up and we have done that in this transfer window and that can only be good for us, as the players we have brought in are very high level and fit right into the team and give us something we need. We can all see their quality from the Club World Cup and what they bring to the team. We have got a big squad at the moment but I think it is definitely needed.”
Another difference after a season when City lost 17 games, trailed in 13 points behind Liverpool and finished 22nd in the Champions League group stages: Rodri is back. If he and Foden were their outstanding individuals in 2023-24, they lost each in different fashion, the Spaniard unfit, the Englishman out of form.
Rodri has recovered from his cruciate ligament injury. Foden cautioned against expecting too much, too soon, but nonetheless enthused about the Ballon d’Or winner’s quality. “It is going to take him a bit of a while to get back to his full fitness and sharpness because it is such a long injury but we all know what Rodri can do,” he said. “He’s unstoppable. Playing alongside him is unbelievable. He just makes you feel secure. He doesn’t lose the ball and he does everything.”
Which, some would say, City used to do in their all-conquering days. They looked flawed and frail last season. Now Foden hopes the combination of proven winners and newly recruited talents can have the chemistry to take them back to the top. They are seeking to make amends for last year, just as he is.
“I think everyone wants to make up for last season,” he added. “We all want to come to our best and winning titles. We have got a lot of experience in the dressing room, with Bernardo [Silva] being captain and hopefully he can push the lads on. That’s a positive when you have done it before, you know how to do it.” And now, he hopes, they know how to do it again.
