Phil Foden is 'playing his best football', how Man City benefit

England midfielder Phil Foden feels he is in the best shape of his life as he aims for a second successive treble with Man City. With eight goals in his last 10 games, Phil Foden is becoming increasingly dangerous and Man City are benefiting from their decision to keep their youngster for as long as possible.

Phil replaced the injured Kevin De Bruyne in a central role in many games in the first half of the season. De Bruyne’s return to action over the past month has seen Foden’s position change but his form has remained the same. Playing alongside De Bruyne, the 23-year-old was again excellent in the Champions League win over FC Copenhagen. After the game, he said: “I’m in good form, scoring goals and helping the team as much as I can and I’m very happy about that. I can say I’m playing my best football for Man City.”

Foden has been tipped for big things since his youth days at City, now more than six years into his first-team career. When Erling Haaland was sidelined with an injury in December, Foden felt it was time to take charge: “I thought I had to. They’re two big players for us. They were crucial for us last year to win the treble. It’s time for me to step up.”

Pep Guardiola could be key to Foden’s development by restricting his playing time and making him a key part of City’s success. For much of Phil Foden’s career, there have been calls for him to play more football than he was getting at the time. When Foden first broke through midway through the 2017-18 season, he was so clearly a talent that City and England fans were excited, demanding that City send him out on loan so he could play more. But City refused to do so because it risked damaging the development of a player Pep Guardiola described in 2019 as “the most talented I’ve ever seen”. This is the best ever product of City’s academy and his playing time has been deliberately limited.

In his first three seasons in the first team, Foden started just 12 Premier League games when he was more than capable of playing for a mid-table side. In the next three seasons, he started 63 Premier League games – an average of 21 per season – for one of the best teams in the world under one of the best managers, playing 5,591 of a possible 10,260 Premier League minutes (54.4%). That’s a significant number, but for many, it’s still not that much.

But dig into the numbers and you can see just how formidable Pep’s use of players is. Over the last three seasons, Foden has started around half of Man City’s Premier League games. But in the run to the 2020-21 Champions League final, he started 12 of their 13 games and played at least 80 minutes in all seven knockout games. Only goalkeeper Ederson (1,080) played more minutes in the Champions League for Man City than Foden (1,066) in that campaign.

Foden's touchline and activity this season at Man City

That means Foden has played almost every minute of City’s pursuit of the trophy that means more to them than any other. In the Premier League, he has played just 1,614 of a possible 3,420 minutes (47.2%). Twelve of his teammates have played more minutes than him in the competition. Even last season, despite being City’s second-highest Premier League scorer (11) behind Erling Haaland (36), Foden played just 1,844 minutes – the 14th-most in the City squad.

Obviously, how to use Foden was carefully calculated. It was the same as Pep's determination not to loan Cole Palmer, so he chose to leave to find a starting position at Chelsea. So the question is, if Palmer had stayed at the Etihad, would it have been better for him than what is already very good at the moment?

Consistency in player management has certainly helped Foden. Having started the last 12 Premier League games, Foden is on his longest run of starts for Man City. He has also not had much rest in other competitions. He has started Man City’s last 13 games in all competitions, his most since a run of 12 in March 2022. Many observers believe that the key is that Pep has found a place for Foden. Because even when injured players return, Foden has kept his place. Guardiola now sees him as indispensable to the team.

There have been too many examples over the years of talented young players starting out at too young an age, only to see their careers fade away too soon. Will Foden make the same mistake?

Foden has played 8,628 minutes in the Premier League so far, with three months to go before his 24th birthday. At 24, Wayne Rooney has played 17,349 minutes in the Premier League, Dele Alli has played 12,087 minutes; Joe Cole 13,711; Michael Owen 15,243; Robbie Fowler 15,671 and Romelu Lukaku 13,989. Essentially, these players all played into their 30s in decent shape. Guardiola may have been too careful in Foden's case.

According to Transfermarkt, Foden has suffered just two injuries in seven seasons at the highest level, missing a total of 89 days and 19 games for club and country. No two players are the same, but looking at the injury-plagued career of 21-year-old Pedri at Barcelona is a cautionary tale. A hamstring injury alone has kept Pedri out for 307 days and 55 games – both of which are significantly more than Foden’s total absences, and he is two and a half years younger than the Englishman. Had it not been for those injuries, Pedri would have played more football than Foden despite having three seasons less first-team football.

The only downside to Foden’s years of playing a supporting role is that he has had to play in a number of different positions and it’s not entirely clear what his best position is. Midfielder, striker and even left-back for Man City. So when England manager Southgate deployed Foden in the centre, there was some controversy. But Foden confirmed: “I like to play anywhere as long as I’m in the middle of the pitch. That’s where I see myself. Hopefully I can play more in the middle.”

HO VIET

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