Phil Foden has given a candid account of why he could not rediscover the electric form of his 2023-24 campaign once last season wore on, pointing to the challenges of playing multiple positions under Pep Guardiola.
Speaking ahead of the new campaign, the 25-year-old admitted that the standards he set for himself when he swept the board of England’s major individual awards two seasons ago became a burden he struggled to carry on as a result of his failure to adapt properly.
According to The Athletic, Foden has been reflecting on a stretch in which he could not replicate his early promise, despite flashes of the brilliance that once made him one of the most feared attackers in the Premier League.
A season of two halves
Foden’s struggles were not for a lack of a bright start. There were spells last season, including a purple patch between late November and mid-December, when he looked every bit the player who dazzled during City’s treble-winning campaign.
Reports have detailed how he scored six goals and set up another during that run alone. But the form evaporated almost as quickly as it arrived. The City’s number 47 found himself unable to force his way back into a reliable starting role for long periods afterwards.
The dip came against the backdrop of wider struggles for a City side that ultimately finished the season without the major honours supporters have grown used to, ending the 2025-26 campaign as runners-up.
“It was like a season of two halves for me,” he says. “I think the first half of it was really good. I performed quite well, and in the second half I couldn’t really get going and didn’t get a lot of game time.”
He explained the reasons why the campaign did not go the way he wanted.
“Obviously I’m an adaptable player as well, so it doesn’t help sometimes when you’re changing a lot of positions and it’s hard to maintain the performance of one position, but sometimes it just happens.
“You’ve got to always perform every single game. But as I touched on, playing in different positions, maybe I didn’t find the rhythm at the right time and seasons slipped away,” he added.
New deal, new era under Maresca
That new era has a new man at the helm. Enzo Maresca has succeeded Pep Guardiola as head coach this summer, arriving back at City for a third spell at the club after previous stints as Elite Development Squad coach and as Guardiola’s assistant during the treble-winning 2022-23 season.
The Italian’s return has already made an impression on Foden, who has spoken warmly about working under a coach he knows well from his time on City’s staff.
Foden has praised the meticulous nature of Maresca’s methods, pointing to an eye for detail that he believes separates good coaches from great ones, even in the earliest days of pre-season training.
For a player looking to reset after a difficult year, working with a familiar face who understands both the club’s culture and his own game may prove significant.
Maresca inherits a City squad still built around Foden’s creativity, and how the England international responds to a change of voice in the dugout will be one of the storylines to watch closely as the new Premier League season approaches.
With the takeover of pre-season training now under way and a new deal was recently finalised, Foden has every incentive to put last season’s frustrations behind him.
