Phil Foden could be the perfect solution to multiple of Enzo Maresca‘s attacking problems.
Having been at the club since he was eight, Foden has already played 377 times for Manchester City, scoring 114 goals and winning a plethora of major honours, including six Premier League titles.
But since winning the POTY award in the 2023/24 season, Foden has struggled to nail down his spot in the side, spending the last few seasons performing in patches.
With a new manager now at the helm after Pep Guardiola left this summer, Foden has a chance to reinvent himself for the latter stages of his career, now entering what should be his prime years at 26-years-old.
In this article, we’ll cover
Foden under Maresca
Foden has already had a mixed start to his time under Maresca, starting the first few games of the season on the right, before dropping to the bench against Coventry for a more natural wing pairing of Antoine Semenyo and Iliman Ndiaye, while Rayan Cherki started in attacking midfield.
After being reinstated to the side to face Manchester United, the English star was given his marching orders after just 23 minutes, which then kept him out of the next two Premier League fixtures, serving his suspension.
When it comes to his most natural number 10 position, Foden is contending with one of the brightest talents in the world right now, with Cherki often getting the nod in that position. However, in his return to the side to face Ipswich in the league, Foden was given the nod in attacking midfield, repaying the faith with a goal.
Despite playing the majority of his minutes off the right this season, Foden has still managed to score four goals and provide three assists in the Premier League and Champions League combined, which is joint for goal contributions with Cherki on seven, despite playing 131 fewer minutes.
Creatively, Foden is also averaging more chances created per 90 minutes than Cherki (2.93 compared to 2.89), while also getting himself into more dangerous positions, generating 0.53 xG per 90, with only Haaland generating more (0.81 xG per 90).
While Foden hasn’t been a guaranteed starter under Maresca, he has already been a useful asset as a versatile attacking option, something Maresca values when it comes to building balanced starting XIs.
False nine usage
An interesting way we see Foden deployed in the second half against AEK Athens in the Champions League midweek was acting as a false nine, something that could be of use to Maresca when resting Erling Haaland, as the current understudy seems to be 17 year-old midfielder, Floyd Samba.
The role of a false nine suits the qualities of Foden, who has brilliant movement between the lines to constantly ask questions of the opposition defensive line, while also connecting in close proximity with the other central players in the pockets, receiving with his back to play or on the half turn.
But two sides of Foden’s game which feel underappreciated are his ability to arrive in high xG positions and score goals with his quality ball striking, but also his workrate and pressing ability.
Foden’s ability to ghost between the lines and arrive in dangerous areas closer to goal was evident just minutes after moving into this false nine role against AEK Athens.
The Englishman dropped from a centre-forward position behind the opposition midfield line into a position in front of the opposition midfield line multiple times in this one phase of play, constantly asking the question to both the midfield and defensive line on who was going to pick him up.
As he followed the opposition midfielder pushing up slightly to engage in a press, Cherki played a clipped ball over the top into Rico Lewis, who was making a run into depth as a countermovement to Foden dropping.
But due to the movement from Foden to stay close to the active midfield line, he then had plenty of space to attack between their midfield and defensive line, with Lewis cushioning it back into the oncoming Foden, who has the quality to finish these chances, as he did on this occasion to make it 4-1 and put the game to bed.
Semenyo replacement?
While Foden playing as a false nine could be a great way of utilising him, Haaland does look to be returning after a rest against AEK Athens, unlike another Manchester City attacking star.
Semenyo looks like he could be out for up to eight weeks, meaning Foden’s usage off the right could become crucial to how Manchester City look over the coming weeks.
This is the position Foden started the game against AEK Athens in, playing as more of a touchline winger off the right, while Lewis inverted into the right pocket and Cherki operated centrally as a number 10.
Maresca has quite clear instructions for his wide players, who he wants to hold the width in a more positional manner, ready to engage in 1v1 isolations with the opposition full-back, being decisive in those moments through their quality and decision making.
Semenyo is a different profile of winger to Foden, having much more explosive power to run into open space and attack more directly.
However, Foden has completed more take-ons per 90 this season (0.91 per 90), while also winning more fouls per 90 (1.82), which speaks to the more precise dribbling nature with smaller touches in tighter spaces from Foden.
Where Foden likely has the edge over Semenyo, and where he could possibly prove to be an improvement rather than just a replacement, is with his decision making once he arrives in dangerous positions.
Despite his physical traits to get into good positions and the two-footed ability of Semenyo to go both inside and outside, his decision making can sometimes lack, especially when he is tasked to make decisions outside of a 1v1 where he’s looking to create a shooting chance for himself.
Foden has a more controlled manner in those moments, combining with others more effectively and having the composure to execute with more quality in these moments.
So whether he is filling in as a false nine to give Haaland a rest, or replacing Semenyo in the team, Foden is bound to get a good run of games over the next eight or so weeks, with this being the perfect opportunity for him to reinvent himself under a new manager as he enters his prime years.