'He's not in that group' - Enzo Maresca explains why Phil Foden was snubbed for Man City captaincy hierarchy despite being 'from the house'

Maresca has officially settled on Man City leadership group for the new campaign, but there was a notable omission in the form of Foden. The 26-year-old, who has been a mainstay of the first team since his academy breakthrough, was considered for a role but ultimately missed out on a spot in the primary quartet.

The manager confirmed that the official armband duties will be shared between four specific individuals this season. "The captain is Ruben [Dias], Erling [Haaland], Marc Guehi and Gianluigi Donnarumma," the manager told reporters during his Friday press conference when clarifying the hierarchy. While Dias and Haaland represent the established core of the squad, the inclusion of relatively new stars Guehi and Donnarumma highlights a fresh approach to leadership under the new coaching regime.

Maresca was quick to acknowledge Foden's importance to the club's identity, referring to him as a "guy from the house" due to his local roots and long-standing connection to the City fans. However, the Italian explained that he prioritised players with specific prior experience as skippers when finalising his selection. The City boss elaborated on his thinking regarding the 2023-24 PFA Player of the Year, admitting the decision was a difficult one to make.

"First of all, because Marc was already captain with Palace," Maresca said. "So he has the experience. Gigio is the captain of the Italy national team, so he has the experience. The reason why I decided for them is because I can see them helping the teammates and the dressing room to behave in the right way."

He added: "These are the four that are going to be the captains. But I was also thinking about Phil, because Phil is one of the guys from the house. He’s not in that group, but for me he’s also one of the captains, one of the players that belong to that group."

Beyond the captaincy debate, Maresca has also been addressing Foden's role within his tactical system. The versatile attacker has spent the opening weeks of the Premier League season deployed on the right wing, largely due to an injury to Jeremy Doku.

"I think Phil’s best position is in the middle," the Italian coach insisted. "But he’s doing an effort to help the team. Because for the first two games we didn’t have options in the wide area, because Jeremy was injured.

"No doubt that Phil’s position in the middle is much better. But I’m very, very happy with Phil since day one. He’s working very good, even when he has played wide in the last two games, he was good."

Maresca's willingness to use Foden in various roles speaks to the player's high footballing IQ and technical quality. The manager believes that elite talents should be capable of performing multiple duties for the benefit of the collective, especially during injury crises. He praised Foden's attitude towards these tactical adjustments, noting that the player has remained professional despite not playing in his preferred number 10 pocket for the duration of every match.

The manager concluded by reinforcing his faith in Foden’s ability to influence games from anywhere across the front line, saying: "You can see that inside the pitch he’s much better. But at the end, Phil is going to play in a different position. Because he’s a good and good players, they can play in different positions."