The great Phil Foden revival: Man City's starboy is back to his best in a new position after battling injuries, illness and demons

Foden's lively display against Burnley had come three days after a virtuoso performance in the Carabao Cup at Huddersfield, scoring the first goal and assisting the second for Savinho. 

That Foden should have dominated a League One side was no great shock. The bigger surprise was that he was in the starting line-up at all. Pep Guardiola had made nine changes from the team that had battled to a 1-1 draw at Arsenal but Foden had no intention of resting. 

Guardiola explained: "Phil had responsibility when he was 17 and started to train with us. The biggest example was Arsenal when everyone was exhausted and tired because we ran a lot and parked the bus and so on. In that moment Phil said, 'I want to play again.' 

"It's what happened when he arrived at 17 and wanted to play every day because he was happy. All of us know what Phil can do, just let him play and enjoy football. His physical condition is outstanding, in his mind he is ready and he can play every three days with high intensity."

Foden's rebirth has a lot to do with the role he has been playing recently, as City’s most advanced central player aside from Haaland. When Kevin De Bruyne’s departure was announced last season, a discussion over who should be his successor began immediately. Florian Wirtz and Morgan Gibbs-White were regarded as the top candidates, although in the end they went for Rayan Cherki. 

The fact that Foden had not been mentioned as a successor felt like a show of disrespect. After all, some of his best performances in his incredible 2023-24 season had come while filling in for the injured De Bruyne. As it turned out, Cherki got injured in only his second Premier League game so Foden took up the baton and he has barely stopped running with it. 

Guardiola could not be happier with him. "Close to the box I think he plays in the pockets perfectly," the coach said at Huddersfield. "When he plays a little bit free and close to the box, he can do something that is unique, we know that. When Phil plays in that position behind the strikers, he’s a real threat."

There is another reason why Foden is playing well. He is smiling again. "We enjoy the happiness in his face," Guardiola said after the midfielder’s starring role in the derby. He was not the only one pleased to see Foden looking like his old self. 

Speaking to Sky Sports alongside Foden after the derby, Haaland pointed at his team-mate and said to the camera: "We have to keep this guy going because we need him so much. This is the Phil we need. All of Man City are waiting for this and we are all going to help him."

Haaland, who has been a big beneficiary of Foden’s bright form, was referencing the way Foden had finished the previous season, when he opened up on his struggles off the pitch and called for a break. "I’ve had a lot of things going on off the pitch mentally," he said in May. 

"It’s one of them – 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 and get back where I left off because I know what I’m capable of doing and the quality I have. I know if everything was OK I’d definitely be better on the field."

Foden, as is his right, did not go into the details of what had been eating away at him. We do know that he had suffered two separate illnesses during the season. The first kept him out for a month, the second, a bout of bronchitis, disrupted his flow in December. 

His incredible form the previous campaign, which saw him sweep all the major individual awards including the PFA Player of the year, was somewhat tainted by his underwhelming displays for England at Euro 2024, despite reaching the final. The scrutiny of an entire nation at that time, or from City fans and the media during their unprecedented slide in results last year, could not have been easy. 

Jeremy Doku gave an insight into how Foden struggles to cope amid unrelenting waves of criticism. The City winger explained after the derby: "Phil is a lovely guy. I know sometimes he struggles when people criticise him. Football is not easy and he showed again that talent-wise you cannot say a word about him."

Foden had gone home briefly during Euro 2024 to attend the birth of his third child, quickly returning to the camp without missing a game. Being away from his family at such a crucial time cannot have been easy. Nor is being a father to a newborn baby in addition to two other young children. 

There was more personal upheaval in early May when his cousin, who has been described as like a sister to him, narrowly escaped from a fire with her young family. In April’s Manchester derby he damaged ankle ligaments in his right foot, leaving the pitch looking distraught while United fans insulted his mother.

Foden has experienced several problems with his right foot, which he first damaged in the semi-finals of the European Championship in 2021, forcing him to miss the final against Italy. According to The Telegraph, the foot flared up on other occasions and he had to place it in a cold compression therapy wrap after certain games to bring down the swelling. He started just one more game that season, only making it on as a late substitute in the FA Cup final.

He got the rest he had craved before the Club World Cup and in the United States showed the first signs that he was on the road back. He declared "new start, new me" and warned: "Now the hunger inside me is back and I want to prove people wrong."

Hopes of doing that from the start of the season were dashed by another ankle problem sustained out in Palermo but there can be no question that Foden is now back in business.

Still, it has not been an entirely smooth period. He was visibly affected by the unexpected death of boxing legend and City fan Ricky Hatton, which was announced on the morning of the Manchester derby. Foden dedicated the win to Hatton and days later he and his wife turned up at the late boxer’s family home with a bouquet of flowers and the shirt he had worn in the game.

His conduct was another demonstration of the human side of Foden and as difficult as it has been to see him open up on his recent torment, it has also been a reminder that even the best footballers can be as vulnerable as everyone else. Foden’s struggles appear to be in the past and everything looks back in his favour. 

A first England recall since March is also on the horizon after missing the last camp with injury after voluntarily skipping the June internationals to focus on his reset. The benefits of taking himself out of the firing line for a bit have been plain to see and now he is firing on all cylinders.