Phil Foden's New Chapter at Manchester City

Phil Foden stands at a crossroads that feels strangely familiar and completely new all at once.

Two years ago he was the face of Manchester City’s dominance, the local lad turned global star, sweeping up the Premier League’s player of the season award and the PFA’s top individual honour after a 19-goal campaign that helped drive another title to the Etihad. At 26, that version of Foden already feels like a reference point rather than a current reality.

The numbers since then tell their own story. Ten goals last season, none at all in his last 31 appearances for club and country. A drought, and a visible one, for a player built on rhythm and instinct.

Yet City’s response was not to hesitate, but to double down.

A contract, and a challenge

While his form flickered, the club’s faith did not. Foden has just signed a new four-year deal, tying him to City until 2030. No brinkmanship, no public drama. Just a clear message: you are still central to what comes next.

“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,” he said, speaking in Hong Kong at the launch of City’s new Puma away kit. “It is nice to see the support from the club and obviously it means a lot. It’s about time I try and repay them and give back to the club.”

For someone who has grown up inside City’s modern era, those words carry weight. Foden was 17 when Pep Guardiola first pushed him into the first team. Since then he has stacked up 369 appearances, six Premier League titles, a Champions League and two FA Cups. He has never known City without Guardiola on the touchline.

Now he will.

Life after Pep, life with Maresca

Guardiola’s departure at the end of last season closed one of the defining chapters in English football. In his place comes Enzo Maresca, an Italian steeped in City’s methods from his time in the academy and as first-team assistant, but very much his own coach.

For Foden, the transition is not a leap into the unknown.

“Very good – a fresh start, a new manager and up to now, really enjoying it,” he said of pre-season. “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.”

The connection is already visible off the pitch. When Foden missed out on Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for the 2026 World Cup, Maresca made a point of reaching out.

“He reached out just after to see if it was OK, which was very nice of him, to show us this character and the person he is. He cares about everyone and wants to have a good relationship with the team.”

Those are small gestures in a long season, but they matter to players who have taken some bruises. Foden described watching England walk out for the national anthem at the tournament as “hard”, a reminder of what he expects from himself on the international stage.

Injury, off-field noise, and a reset

Last season never quite settled for him. An ankle problem disrupted his flow, while off-field issues dragged at his focus. The sharpness dulled, the goals dried up, the easy joy in his game flickered.

Now, he insists, that is behind him. “Fully fit” is how he describes himself, and Maresca’s public stance matches the private support.

“Phil is very important, like the rest. Knowing Phil from years ago, I know how good he is,” the City manager said. “It is my duty to help him be the Phil we all want. First of all, to be happy and enjoy football is most important. If he feels good, he can help us win titles.”

There is no attempt to hide the expectation there. This is not a squad player being eased back. This is a cornerstone being challenged to play like one again.

New era, same ambition

Maresca’s first game in charge comes on Saturday, a friendly against Inter Milan in Hong Kong. Pre-season fixtures rarely carry significance, but this one marks the first visible step into the post-Guardiola era.

City go into it without more than just their former manager. Captain Bernardo Silva and defender John Stones, two pillars of experience and knowhow, have also moved on. The dressing room looks and feels different.

Foden, though, refuses to see that as a step back.

Despite the departures, he talks about what remains, not what has gone. “I think we can win everything, but it’s obviously hard. We have still got an unbelievable team.”

That line sums up where he is now. No shrinking of ambition, no softening of targets. Just the recognition that dominance has to be earned all over again.

He has already lived one City dynasty from the inside. The question now is whether Phil Foden, fully fit, freshly backed and under a manager who knows him well, can drive the next one.