Phil Foden meltdown: ‘Everyone forgets how young he is’
Phil Foden’s season-long Manchester City and England meltdown is a big talking point.
Foden’s alarming drop-off in performance and output has coincided with City falling completely out of the Premier League title race, though they’re still in Champions League contention with nine games left.
Having won the PFA Player of the Year and Premier League Player of the Season awards after 27 goal contributions last term, Foden has mustered just nine from his 24 appearances so far in this campaign.
| Season | Appearances | Starts | Goals | Assists | Minutes per G/A |
| 2023–24 | 53 | 48 | 27 | 19 | 106.9 |
| 2024–25 | 38 | 28 | 10 | 6 | 162.8 |
Former Manchester United and Blackburn chief Scout Mick Brown told Football Insider that the weight of expectation for City and England is heavy on Foden’s shoulders, and he’s failing to perform as a result.
Foden’s form for his country is also failing to meet expectations and he was publicly called out by Thomas Tuchel after starting against Albania, with England fans not exactly happy to see him off the bench against Latvia three days later.
Former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson told Football Insider that criticism of Foden’s performances for club and country is justified this season, but he also has more than enough quality to bounce back.
Phil Foden backed to recover best Manchester City form
England, current and former Manchester City team-mates have rallied around Foden as he strives to return to the level he hit last season, but the 24-year-old is fast running out of time to find those levels.
Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Robinson said that despite the level of football Foden has played at his entire career, he’s still got plenty more to learn at his age.
“Form’s temporary, class is permanent – Phil Foden is not a player you worry about”, he told Football Insider.
“Yes, okay, he’s not hit the levels that he hit last year, but he’s a quality player, and everyone forgets how young Phil Foden still is. In my opinion, it’s not even a conversation.
“There’s no concern over Phil Foden because the undoubted quality is there – he might have been rotated in and out the side more than he did last year.
“He’s not got the numbers, he’s not got the goals, not got the assists – he’s [still] a quality player. There’s no conversation for me.”
Time for Manchester City to give Phil Foden the limelight
Foden’s sheer level of output last season should put to bed any worries that he’s incapable of running the show for Pep Guardiola’s City side – 27 goals and 13 assists in all competitions speak for themselves.
City face a transitional summer with the likes of Kevin de Bruyne, Mateo Kovacic and Bernardo Silva all coming to the ends of their careers in sky blue; and Foden will surely be front and centre of the new era.
Foden has already shown last term that he can outshine world-class players like De Bruyne and Erling Haaland in an all-conquering City side, and a rejuvinated team around him may end up the same way.
As Guardiola looks to recover from a season to forget, making Foden the poster boy of a new-look squad could be just what the 24-year-old needs to rediscover the form which made him England’s very best.