Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca has pledged to help Phil Foden rediscover his best form after the midfielder ended his goal drought with four goals in two matches.
Phil Foden had gone 10 months without scoring before netting in City’s 3-2 win over Ipswich last weekend. The England international followed that performance with a hat-trick in Tuesday’s 5-1 Champions League win over AEK Athens.
The 26-year-old enjoyed the finest season of his career in 2023/24, scoring 27 goals in all competitions and winning the Premier League Player of the Season award.
However, he has struggled to maintain those standards over the past two seasons and has previously spoken about his mental health challenges.
Maresca, who took charge of City in June, said he had held several conversations with Foden to reassure him of his importance to the team.
“Since we started, I sat down with Phil two or three times, especially at the beginning. Just to show him, I don’t know if love is the right word to use, but just to show him how important he is,” Maresca said.
“I said many times that I knew Phil from years ago, so I know how, for different reasons, the last few years it was not good enough.
“When you have more players like Phil available, you are a better team because again it’s a matter of improving players. If you improve the players, you improve the team.
“So for me, I think it’s my duty to try to help Phil to be again one of the best players in England.”
Maresca has made an impressive start at the Etihad Stadium, winning his first seven Premier League matches in charge of a new club. City’s only defeat under the Italian came against reigning European champions Paris Saint-Germain in a 4-2 Champions League loss.
Despite the positive results, City continue to face uncertainty over their financial future as they contest a guilty verdict relating to more than 100 alleged breaches of Premier League financial rules. Potential sanctions could include a points deduction and relegation if the club fails to overturn the verdict.
Maresca, however, insisted the squad remained focused despite the uncertainty surrounding the club.
“In any club, when you lose important players, many important players, and you lose the manager after 10 years, it always takes time to compete again,” he said earlier today, October 22.
“But this organisation last summer changed many important players, changed the manager after 10 years, and we are competing at the moment.”
City travel to Aston Villa on Saturday, with striker Erling Haaland expected to return after missing the AEK Athens match with a foot injury sustained against Ipswich.
Haaland has scored 12 goals in nine appearances this season. Matheus Nunes, Mateo Kovacic and Nico O’Reilly remain injury doubts ahead of the trip.
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