Enzo Maresca has made it clear that reigniting Phil Foden’s Manchester City career sits near the top of his priority list. He told the reporters at his first press conference as head coach that helping the England international rediscover his best form is both a professional and personal mission.
Maresca, who returned to the Etihad this summer after replacing Pep Guardiola, is no stranger to Foden. The Italian worked as Guardiola’s assistant during City’s treble-winning 2022-23 campaign, a period in which Foden thrived under his guidance before later being named Premier League Player of the Season.
That shared history appears to be shaping how Maresca is approaching one of the trickiest rebuilding jobs of his new reign.
“I just want to help Phil to be the Phil we all want,” Maresca said, addressing the media for the first time since taking charge. “First of all for him because he needs to enjoy football, and second because I know how good he is. Phil in a good shape and mood, he can win games.”
A tough spell to leave behind for the English superstar
Foden’s last two seasons have been a marked departure from the heights of 2023-24, when he swept the major individual awards in English football.
Persistent inconsistency saw him fall out of Guardiola’s first-choice XI for long stretches, culminating in a difficult run of substitutions and, ultimately, exclusion from England’s World Cup squad this summer.
Maresca did not shy away from acknowledging that dip in form. “Treble season he was fantastic, season after he won Player of the Year,” he said. “He struggled a little bit, but I told him it’s my duty to help him. He’s from the house. He’s from me. He’s a City fan.”
That last line points to something beyond tactics. Foden is a boyhood City supporter and academy graduate, having joined the club’s youth system at the age of nine, and Maresca’s language suggests he sees the forward’s revival as tied to a sense of belonging as much as coaching detail.
Contract extension signals long-term faith
The comments follow City’s confirmation that Foden has signed a new deal running until the summer of 2030, ending months of speculation about his future amid reported interest from Galatasaray.
The 26-year-old has been vocal about his excitement at working with Maresca again, describing him as “brilliant” during the treble season and someone the squad respected and enjoyed working under.
Director of football Hugo Viana added his own endorsement of the player, stressing that Foden’s development is far from finished and that his best years remain ahead of him.
The message from the club’s hierarchy has been consistent: Foden remains central to their plans, regardless of the struggles of the past two campaigns.
Notably, reports suggest Maresca began reaching out to Foden even before his City appointment was formally confirmed, contacting him directly after he was left out of the World Cup squad.
It’s a detail that underlines how early the new head coach identified Foden’s revival as a priority rather than an afterthought once pre-season began.
What comes next for Phil Foden
With City now on their pre-season tour, Foden will have the platform to show Maresca directly what he can offer.
The head coach has stopped short of guaranteeing him a starting role, instead framing the coming weeks as an opportunity for the playmaker to earn his place back in the side on merit.
Whether Foden can rediscover the spark of that treble-winning campaign remains to be seen, but with a settled long-term contract and a manager who has coached him to his peak before, the ingredients for a turnaround appear to be in place.
For a City side entering a new era after Guardiola’s decade of dominance, how Foden responds could prove one of the defining subplots of Maresca’s first season in charge.
