ONE of the biggest things missing at City this season has been Phil Foden's smile. In nearly 20 years of being at the club, the man dubbed early on as the Stockport Iniesta has not lost the childlike enthusiasm for kicking a ball about, being the first and last at training and even on occasion taking a football with him on the streets near his house.
Last season saw the potential realised of a player always tipped for the very top, as he picked up the three biggest individual awards in England after leading City to an historic fourth consecutive Premier League title.
It felt like life couldn't get better when Foden slapped in a goal at the Etihad inside the opening seconds of their 38th and final league game last season, yet within a couple of months he was at the lowest point of his career. For one of the first times, Foden was struggling to love the game he had grown up with.
England and the Euros didn't help. Gareth Southgate did not want to play with two central attacking midfielders and preferred Jude Bellingham in a central role, forcing Foden to the left wing after a season of being the main man for the English and world champions.
It never really worked, and a player who had managed 27 goals and 12 assists for City in a successful campaign did not contribute to a single goal despite England making it all the way to the final, where they would lose to Spain. As pleased as Foden was while England stayed in the tournament, he was left disappointed at what he was being asked to do.
"I feel frustrated I didn't get out what I wanted to get out of it," he told M.E.N. Sport in an exclusive interview.
"The position I was put in on the left was very difficult to influence the game.
This story is from the January 28, 2025 edition of Manchester Evening News.
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This story is from the January 28, 2025 edition of Manchester Evening News.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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