Maresca believes Foden is exceptionally talented, and his job is to unlock Foden's potential

On August 22,(CEST), Daily Mail Man City correspondent Jack Gaughan published a special article detailing Phil Foden’s current situation and circumstances.

Original Column

Man City gave the whole team a day off on Thursday, and Phil Foden immediately headed to the North Wales coast, to Tywyn, a seaside town between Abergele and Rhyl.

Located only about an hour’s drive from Foden’s home, it is known for its family amusement park and challenging rides. At Knightly’s Fun Park, he successfully caught a plush toy from a seemingly “impossible to catch” claw machine, then took it back to the holiday home rented half a mile away and gave it to his surprised children.

After beating the claw machine, Foden was exceptionally happy. Now 26 years old, he needs to control the "grips" of his career with the same certainty. There is no doubt that this Sunday's match against Bournemouth will kick off the most critical season of his career.

During the off-season, Foden spent his vacation going to Silverstone to watch F1, to Wimbledon to watch tennis, and visiting central England many times to fish; he either did extra training abroad with his personal trainer, Jamie Reynolds, or practiced hard in the artificial turf cage built in his own garden.

Now these have come to an end, and the new season will begin this weekend. Having missed international competitions after being left out of the World Cup squad, he should have had a full rest – after Thomas Tuchel announced the England squad, Enzo Maresca immediately called to express his sympathy. Foden is now talking about a new beginning.

Over the past two years, Foden has spoken about his mental health issues. After being named PFA Player of the Year in 2024, he suffered a slump, but he now says he "feels much better" and that his mind is clearer. He clearly wants to secure a regular position and no longer rotate frequently, and Maresca's tactical arrangements in recent weeks indicate that he will compete directly with Rayan Cherki. The academy graduate, who signed a new four-year contract last month, knows that his performances over the past two years have fallen well short of expectations, although he enjoyed a burst of form before Christmas last season.

Foden briefly returned to near-peak form, only to fall into another slump. In January this year, on the night Man City lost away to Bodø/Glimt, he had an argument with former coach Guardiola in the locker room, an incident not featured in Amazon Prime Video's new documentary.

According to insiders, the relationship between Guardiola and Foden has always been like that of father and son. After ten years of working together, perhaps a change would be beneficial for both parties. In Maresca's view, Foden's talent is unquestionable, and as long as his mentality remains stable and his performances are consistent, he should firmly occupy a place in the England squad. Maresca's responsibility is to maximize Foden's potential.

"You can tell he's sharp and performing well," said Maresca. "From day one, his form has been very, very good. People inside the club told me that, compared to last year or the past two years, his mentality and performance in training are like two different people, which is exactly what we want."

When Man City began their Asian pre-season with a young squad, before Ruben Dias returned from his World Cup vacation, the Italian coach had Foden wear the captain's armband. "I've been at the club for so long, and I'm one of the most senior players, so this season I have to be one of the leaders, a captain candidate," said Foden. "I look forward to taking on new responsibilities and striving to show leadership."

Maresca will finalize a four-man captaincy group after the tumultuous transfer window, and he hopes it will include a homegrown English player, with Marc Guéhi an obvious suitable candidate.

However, in the short term, being able to play a greater role in matches is enough. The coaching staff are satisfied with Foden's concentration in training and willingness to learn new tactics, but he needs to replicate his closed-door training performances in official matches.

In March this year, Tuchel revealed that Foden's attitude in training had never been a problem, and that his performances had always impressed the coaching staff, but when he put on his match kit, he could not replicate the "vitality and drive" he showed in training. Man City also face the same problem, and their focus is on helping Foden build confidence by using all available resources. Although Maresca insisted that Foden performed well last Sunday, just a few seconds into the Community Shield, Foden lost a key challenge to Lewis Skelly, indirectly leading to Arsenal's opening goal, and the team clearly expects him to do better. But now, Foden has a smile back on his face and is eager to improve himself and regain the top-level standard that Guardiola once polished.

He should aim for Man City's all-time appearance record — held by Alan Oakes and unchallenged for half a century — which currently stands at 680 appearances. Foden, at 26, is 310 appearances short and in the prime of his career. If he can approach or even surpass Oakes' record, his career will take a turn for the better. He should also challenge the club's all-time goalscoring chart and target Kevin De Bruyne's record of 176 assists; his current assist count is 68.

This is what Man City want to see, and why they renewed Foden's contract. The club firmly believes that the real Phil Foden can return.

Another detail highlights Foden's "home-loving nature": the lad from Stockport returned to Edgeley High Street to gather with extended family members within hours of Man City's return from Korea, despite it being nearly an hour's drive from his Cheshire mansion.

"Phil came through our academy; he's a true Man City man," said Maresca. "Everyone is happy to see him getting better and better."

AF's PC site is now live! Browse full news, comments, match details, and stats on your computer. Visit: www.allfootballapp.com