Pep Guardiola is optimistic Phil Foden will be back to his best for Manchester City this season following a frustrating past 12 months for the England midfielder.
Foden was instrumental in City claiming an unprecedented fourth successive Premier League crown in the 2023-24 campaign with 19 goals, leading to him scooping a host of prestigious individual accolades.
He was off the boil for large stretches of last season and placed the blame on a persistent ankle injury and off-field issues, as well as burnout having helped England reach the final of Euro 2024.
But he had an uptick in form at the Club World Cup in June and is in line for his first outing of this season against Tottenham in Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off after missing last week’s 4-0 win at Wolves.
Guardiola said: “Phil is a top-class, extraordinary player. The last Premier League we won, he was massively important. He was the best player in the Premier League.
“Always I try to convince him he can be better, can read the situations better. But I never would doubt the quality of Phil and I only want his joy to be playing again and be happy. Phil is something unique.
“(Last season) was the first season after six or seven (seasons) when everything dropped a little bit. If he learned the lesson that would be great.
“There are always seasons that you cannot be like you were, but Phil has been incredibly consistent and incredible in these many years, and this is what we are looking for (again).”
Foden’s fellow midfielder Rodri, the winner of the Ballon d’Or last year, was also absent at Molineux but the Spaniard is pushing for an appearance at the Etihad Stadium for the visit of Spurs.
Rodri has been sidelined for much of the past 12 months after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament last September and his return to action is likely to be carefully managed by Guardiola and his staff.
Guardiola said: “Rodri is desperate to play. The year before the injury, he played 70-something games and he said to me ‘I have mental fatigue, I’m so tired’ and now he’s fresh.
“I just want consistency with Rodri, that’s all. I don’t have any doubts about his potential or his quality. Still, so far, he is the best player in the world.
“(Next month) there will be a new (Ballon d’Or winner) but it is still him. It’s just the consistency (which will come) with training and games (week after week) and after that everything will be fine.”
Ederson is available again after being ruled out at Wolves through illness, and Guardiola will make a late call over whether to restore the Brazilian in goal or stick with summer signing James Trafford.
Complicating matters is Ederson being heavily linked with a switch to Turkish outfit Galatasaray in this transfer window, with Guardiola admitting recently he is eager to trim his bloated squad.
Winger Savinho and defensive duo Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake have also been linked with moves away from Eastlands before the summer window closes on September 1.
Guardiola added: “To be honest, I don’t know what is happening with a few players – I don’t know who is coming, who is staying, who is leaving, I don’t know.
“All the clubs I had the feeling that it is the same, we are not an exception. Because the agents make the roles, the club have their opinions, the players have theirs, and after that we see what happens.”
