Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.
Phil Foden has been impressed by the tweaks Enzo Maresca has made to the Manchester City setup he inherited from Pep Guardiola during pre-season.
Maresca has huge shoes to fill at the Etihad Stadium following the end of Guardiola’s decade-long reign, which saw the club win 20 trophies.
Guardiola is the only manager Foden has played under throughout his club career, having been handed his senior debut by the former Barcelona boss in 2017.
Only Bernardo Silva (460), Kevin De Bruyne (381) and Ederson (372) have ever played more games under Guardiola than Foden, whose 369 such appearances are over 150 more than Lionel Messi made under him at Barca (204).
Foden posted 21 goal involvements (13 goals, eight assists) in all competitions in 2025-26, an improvement on his return from 2024-25 (15) but still fewer than he managed in each of the previous four seasons.
And as the creative midfielder eyes an improved 2026-27 campaign, he believes Maresca’s fresh ideas could be good for City.
“I found it good, to be honest. All I’ve known is Pep Guardiola, so it’s a fresh start,” Foden – who signed a new four-year contract with City last month – said.
“I’m enjoying the new coaching staff, the way we’re playing and the things we’re doing in training. I’m just really excited for the season, and hopefully we can have a good year.
“I don’t want to give too much away about how we’ll play, but maybe the defending is a little bit different, with how we set up.
“We have different ideas about how to play out from the back, a different variety of things on the ball, but I think the lads are very comfortable because we want to play football from the back and try and create, so I think it suits everyone really well.”
— Manchester City (@ManCity) August 4, 2026
Asked if he had sought assurances from Maresca regarding his role in the team, Foden said: “We’ve not really had those discussions yet.
“I think what he wants from me, though, is to try and be an example to the young lads at the moment on tour – to train really well, keep my head down and work hard.”
Foden played 70 minutes as City drew 1-1 with Inter Milan in a friendly last Saturday, before losing in a penalty shoot-out. The next outing of their Asian tour comes against a K-League All-Star XI on Wednesday.
One player who is yet to feature in pre-season for City is Elliot Anderson, who Foden has played alongside for England.
Anderson joined City in a £116m deal from Nottingham Forest off the back of helping the Three Lions finish third at the World Cup, after Foden was omitted from Thomas Tuchel’s squad for the final tournament.
And Foden is relishing the opportunity to link up with him at club level, saying: “I’m really excited to have him at the club.
“When I’ve watched him previously or played against him, he’s a player that likes to find the number 10 and fire balls through the lines.
“I think that suits me really well. I’m excited to play with him.”
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