Questions are growing around Phil Foden after the Manchester City forward experienced a sharp decline in playing time. Over the club’s past 12 matches in all competitions, he has started only four times, and he did not leave the bench during the 3-0 defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League.
Questions are growing around Phil Foden after the Manchester City forward experienced a sharp decline in playing time. Over the club’s past 12 matches in all competitions, he has started only four times, and he did not leave the bench during the 3-0 defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League.
His involvement in domestic competition has also been limited. Across City’s last six Premier League fixtures, the 25-year-old has accumulated just 182 minutes, with manager Pep Guardiola selecting other attacking options instead. January arrival Antoine Semenyo, along with Rayan Cherki and Savinho, has been preferred in recent weeks.
Foden’s last goal came on 14 December, ending a productive spell in which he scored six times in five matches. Since then, he has not found the net and has struggled to reclaim a regular starting role.
The situation has raised doubts about whether he can return to his previous level and whether he will be given enough opportunities to do so, especially with the World Cup approaching.
Former Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney believes the explanation lies partly in a tactical adjustment by Guardiola. According to Rooney, City are no longer relying as heavily on long spells of possession and patient passing between the lines.
Instead, the team appears more direct and physically aggressive in attack. Rooney suggested that Semenyo and Cherki bring a different type of threat, offering speed and a willingness to drive at defenders, qualities that have influenced Guardiola’s selection choices.
Semenyo, who joined from AFC Bournemouth for £64m in January, has played virtually every Premier League minute since arriving. Alongside Cherki and academy graduate Nico O'Reilly, the trio have combined for 17 City goals since Foden’s last strike.
Foden’s most recent start also drew criticism after he failed to follow Elliot Anderson during the move that led to Nottingham Forest equalising in a 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium. He was replaced just 65 seconds after the goal. Former City midfielder Michael Brown suggested there might be more behind the scenes, noting that an undisclosed knock or fitness issue could explain the sudden reduction in minutes.
Foden’s recent struggles contrast sharply with the form he showed in earlier campaigns. During the 2022-23 season he played a significant role in City’s historic treble, while the following year he was named the PFA Men's Player of the Year after contributing 19 goals and eight assists as the club secured a fourth consecutive league title.
Despite having already collected 17 major trophies with City across eight full seasons, reproducing that level of influence has proved difficult. After his brief burst of goals before Christmas — six in four matches over a 15-day stretch — his scoring run dried up. He has now gone 18 games in all competitions without finding the net.
This decline could also affect his international prospects. Thomas Tuchel is due to announce the next England national football team squad on 14 March, and competition for places is intensifying. Foden was part of the previous selection, appearing as a substitute against the Serbia national football team during a World Cup qualifying victory in November.
Late in 2025 Guardiola began experimenting with Foden’s role, moving him from central midfield into a position closer to striker Erling Haaland. The manager noted at the time that when Foden operated near Haaland during the season City won their fourth successive league title, and he had been the Premier League’s standout performer.
Initially the change brought results. Early in December, Foden often began matches on the flank before drifting into the area behind Haaland, a movement enabled by full-backs such as O’Reilly or Matheus Nunes providing width. During that period he scored six goals in four games.
However, injuries to wide players and defensive vulnerabilities on counter-attacks led Guardiola to try a narrower attacking structure that operates between a 4-2-2-2 and a 4-3-1-2. In that setup Foden has frequently been left out of the starting lineup.
History suggests returning from Guardiola’s “cold shoulder” can be difficult. Players such as Jack Grealish, Kyle Walker, Joe Hart, and João Cancelo all lost their places before eventually leaving the club. Defender Manuel Akanji joined Inter Milan on loan last summer after being told he was no longer required.
One notable exception from Guardiola’s time at City was Yaya Touré. The midfielder was excluded from the Champions League squad during Guardiola’s first season in England in 2016-17 and did not play until his agent issued a public apology on his behalf. After that, Touré returned to the team and started 22 of City’s final 27 league matches despite missing the opening 11.
