Earlier this week, it was widely reported that Manchester City had withdrawn their interest in Bayer Leverkusen attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz.
Many supporters had already fallen in love with the idea of Germany international Wirtz picking up the baton from the departing Kevin De Bruyne to become the Etihad Stadium’s new superstar.
But talk around succession planning for De Bruyne goes back to his hamstring surgery at the start of the 2023/24 campaign. Twelve months ago, it looked like Pep Guardiola had things sorted.
Phil Foden enjoyed by far the best season of his career and was named PFA and FWA Player of the Year, scoring 26 goals and providing 13 assists in 46 starts. He headed into Euro 2024 as one of the main reasons for high expectations around a talent-stacked England team.
FLASHBACK: Is Phil Foden the best player in the Premier League?
A year later, Foden has only started three of City’s past 11 Premier League games, completing 90 minutes in none of them, and it’s hard to argue against the reduction in playing time. Having carried the team in De Bruyne’s injury absence last term, he was an unused substitute as the Belgian maestro said his goodbyes to the Etihad Stadium in Tuesday’s 3-1 win over Bournemouth.
What happened to Phil Foden?
Illness, injury and a loss of form have all played a part, but problems away from the field have also taken a toll.
“It’s been a frustrating season for me. I’ve had a lot of things going on off the pitch mentally,” Foden said. “Sometimes there’s things in life that are bigger than football.
“This season I’ve struggled a little bit. Hopefully, come next year, I can get my head mentally right, get back where I left the season before, because I know what I’m capable of doing and the quality I have.
“I know if everything was okay, I’d definitely be better on the field. Sometimes things happen and you have to deal with it and move on. Unfortunately, I’ve had a difficult season. Now it’s just about improving and getting back to my best. I know my standards and what I can reach. I’m looking forward to getting back.”
Foden acknowledged City have been “so supportive” of his plight, while an ankle ligament injury suffered during the goalless draw at Manchester United in early April has compounded matters. The 24-year-old was back on the bench at Everton 13 days later and conceded that might have been a mistake.
“I picked up an ankle injury against United and it’s taken time to heal,” he said. “It was a bad ligament damage to the ankle. It took a while to heal before I could push myself back in training. I had to look after it.
“A lot of people don’t know what football players have to go through and play with. I’ve had a lot of ankle pain and played with it in the last couple of months. Some people don’t see what we go through, it’s frustrating for me because I know it’s been hard to get it right. You need time for it to heal but, me being me, I just love to come back on the football pitch as soon as possible. Maybe I’ve come back too early, but it’s what I’m like.”
Will Phil Foden play at the Club World Cup?
Guardiola has frequently noted how Foden is the first player in training to have a ball at his feet and the last to leave it alone. He adores everything about playing football and is such an irresistibly vibrant performer at his best.
It’s therefore particularly sobering to see and hear him speaking at what appears to be a low ebb. Foden is surely not alone in his current predicament, but elite football offers little respite.
“I just need a few weeks off it without playing football and obviously I can’t get it at the moment. It’s something we have to speak to the club and national team about to see maybe if it’s better to rest and get my ankle fully 100 per cent back how I want it,” he said, citing England’s forthcoming internationals against Andorra and Senegal that immediately precede City’s participation in the expanded FIFA Club World Cup.
“It’s difficult because the lads are mentally drained from this season. I believe everyone needs the right time to recover, to go back to next season,” Foden added.
“It’s going to be a funny one, some clubs will take it more seriously than others, but I know City and the club we are. We’ll definitely take it seriously. It’s going to be something new, I don’t know much about it, I’ve left it in the back of my head, to be honest, until the season’s finished.
“For myself, it will be somewhere I look at to get going for the season. I’m just looking forward to seeing what it’s like and playing against top teams, which helps.”
The joy is missing right now for Foden, a player whose effervescence brings so much joy to fans. When it returns, it will be despite and not because of football’s ever-grinding treadmill for its most talented.
