Phil Foden new Man City contract is yet another warning shot to Liverpool FC

Regardless of how Manchester City get on against Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, the Blues have already fired their latest warning to their closest title rivals of recent years.

On Friday City announced that Phil Foden had signed a new five-year contract with the club, putting an end to the speculation regarding his future that has followed him around for the best part of a year. With Foden's old deal set to expire in 2024, City had been keen to tie the academy graduate to new terms; this three-year extension means that, all being well, he will be a City player until 2027.

Foden committing his long-term future to the club he has supported all his life means an awful lot not just to him and the club, but to City supporters. You won't find a City fan who felt a pang of sentimentality when Foden and summer signing Erling Haaland - also a childhood fan of the Blues - both scored hat-tricks in the Manchester derby earlier this month, not because of the occasion but because of who was inflicting the pain on City's arch-rivals.

In recent years Liverpool have become gatekeepers of the 'this means more' mentality, adamant that they are the only club rooted in its community with local lads turning into local heroes. City have not always been able to claim the latter, but they can now.

Emotion aside, securing the long-term future of a player who, despite still only being 22, is one of the best players in Pep Guardiola's squad is a real statement of intent from City. The Blues have won four of the last five Premier League titles, with Liverpool winning the other. In two of City's triumphant campaigns, Jurgen Klopp's side pushed them all the way and finished just a point behind them in the standings.

Things got a little too close for comfort on the final day of last season, but since then the two clubs have moved in opposite directions. Liverpool lost one of their key players in Sadio Mane, and while they replaced him with Darwin Nunez, they failed to adequately bolster other key areas of the team such as midfield.

That is part of the reason why they have won only two of their opening eight league matches this campaign, and why they have already been defeated by both Manchester United and Arsenal.

Meanwhile, City - who let's not forget lost key players of their own in Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus - recruited superbly, with Haaland the headline act of course. If there was one thing that City could be criticised for last season, it was being wasteful in front of goal. That was the case in the two 2-2 draws with Liverpool, and Haaland was signed to address that.

Foden has enjoyed facing Liverpool in recent seasons, scoring at Anfield on his last two visits. Now he'll get the chance to do so again for many years to come as City look to pull clear of a team that has not let them rest in recent times.