Phil Foden reacts to ‘work’ message from Man City ace Jeremy Doku
Phil Foden has reacted to a message from his Man City teammate Jeremy Doku on social media.
Foden has endured a difficult season, in keeping with the Sky Blues’ poor performances this season, despite being named the Premier League’s player-of-the-year last season.
The winger registered 19 goals, and eight assists, as Man City edged out Arsenal to claim their fourth successive Premier League title.
This year however, the Citizens find themselves sat fifth, only four points above 10th placed Bournemouth.
Disappointing results have led to some Man City fans calling for Pep Guardiola to be sacked, which would have seemed unfathomable prior to the start of the campaign.
Jeremy Doku all smiles ahead of the international break
The international break will be a welcome distraction for a number of City stars.
Doku however, has fared well in his second season in Manchester, being one of the few players to raise his game from last year.
The former Rennes winger has matched his goal-tally in all competitions from last season (six), and is now preparing to represent Belgium in a double-header against Ukraine.
Doku took to Instagram ahead of the games to post a picture of himself smiling, captioned: “Back home, let’s work”.
The post was liked by his teammate Phil Foden, who will be involved in the England squad for matches against Albania and Latvia.
Man City need Phil Foden to re-kindle magic from last season
Football Insider Verdict
City’s last chance of silverware this season will come in the FA Cup, as they prepare to face Bournemouth in the quarter-final of the world’s oldest cup competition.
With Ilkay Gundogan failing to impress having returned from a stint at Barcelona, and the magic seeming to fade from the feet of Kevin de Bruyne, the Sky Blues need Foden to step up now, more than ever.
| 2024/25 Premier League stats | Foden | Doku |
| Appearances | 24 | 20 |
| Starts | 18 | 13 |
| Goals | 7 | 3 |
| Assists | 2 | 4 |
| Minutes | 1,632 | 1,161 |
Last season seemed like a breakout campaign for Foden, and in many ways, it was. Guardiola relied on the City academy graduate to be the fulcrum of his team offensively, slotting into the role Raheem Sterling once held.
However, this year, the 24-year-old has been absent in games, especially the big ones, which will be a major cause for concern in Manchester.
Whilst this year can be written off as one marred by poor transfer decisions, Foden will have to prove to Guardiola, once again, that he can be trusted to carry this Man City side.