Phil Foden Aims for Payback Season Under Maresca at Man City

Phil Foden has never been short of medals or praise at Manchester City. What he wants now is payback.

Fresh from signing a new four-year deal that ties him to the Etihad until 2030, the 26-year-old spoke with the clarity of a player who knows he owes his club a response after two flat seasons in front of goal.

“It has made me feel relaxed and I can just concentrate on being the best version of me and give back to the football club for them trusting in me,” Foden said of his new contract. “It’s about time I try and repay them and give back to the club.”

Those words carry weight because of what came before.

In 2023-24, Foden hit a career peak: 19 goals in all competitions, a driving force as City powered to another Premier League title. He swept the individual honours too, named both the Professional Footballers’ Association player of the year and the league’s player of the season. It felt like the year he finally stepped from prodigy to undisputed leading man.

Then the numbers dipped.

Across the past two campaigns, Foden has not touched those heights. He still reached double figures last term with 10 goals, but the sharp edge deserted him. The most telling statistic is the one that clearly irritates him most: no goals in his last 31 appearances for club and country.

For some clubs, that kind of drought from a supposed talisman might trigger doubt. City went the other way. They put a long-term deal on the table and asked him to stay at the heart of their next cycle.

“It is nice to see the support from the club and obviously it means a lot,” Foden said. The message from the hierarchy is obvious: this is still your team to shape.

Foden’s story at City has always been wrapped up in one name: Pep Guardiola.

It was Guardiola who threw him in as a 17-year-old, who trusted a local academy kid to handle the demands of a side chasing every trophy on offer. From that debut, Foden has amassed 369 appearances and a haul that would define most careers: six Premier League titles, one Champions League, two FA Cups.

Guardiola, though, has gone. The Catalan walked away at the end of last season, closing one of the most dominant eras English football has seen. In his place stands Enzo Maresca, an Italian coach who knows the building, the corridors, the academy fields and the standards.

For Foden, this is not a plunge into the unknown.

“Very good – a fresh start, a new manager and up to now, really enjoying it,” he said when asked how he feels this summer. “It is very strange but I know Enzo from before, so that also helps. I know him quite well and what [he] is about. That has definitely helped, to have that relationship with him.”

Maresca’s previous spells at City, working in the academy and as a first-team assistant, mean he arrives with a clear picture of what Foden can be at his best. The midfielder, in turn, understands the demands of a coach steeped in the same positional-play principles that shaped him under Guardiola.

That familiarity strips away excuses. This is not a reset under a stranger; it is a continuation with a twist.

Foden now stands at a crossroads rare for a player so decorated. He has already lived the boyhood dream: local lad, club of his life, trophies stacked high. Yet the sense lingers that his defining season is still ahead of him, not behind.

The contract is signed. The faith has been shown. The goals, he knows, must follow.