Liverpool legend Michael Owen issues words of advice to Manchester City’s Phil Foden | OneFootball

Phil Foden has received direct words of advice from one of the Premier League’s all-time greats as he looks to get back to his blistering best in a Manchester City shirt.

Foden has been a major topic of discourse amongst Manchester City fans over the last 12 months, having undergone a dip in form last term after leading his boyhood club to their fourth Premier League title in a row in 2024.

The 25-year-old scored 27 times and provided 13 assists in 53 outings over the course of the 2023-24 campaign and was voted the PFA Players’ Player of the Year for his outstanding contributions to Manchester City’s title-winning season.

However, the Stockport-born attacker struggled to replicate his 2023-24 heroics last season amidst a collective dip for Pep Guardiola and co, who finished third in the Premier League last season with 71 points on the board and were eliminated from the UEFA Champions League at the Round of 16 stage by Real Madrid.

Foden admitted to have suffered mental and physical fatigue that derailed him from fulfilling his potential last season as Manchester City lacked inspiration in attack, with Kevin De Bruyne spending a significant part of the season on the sidelines and struggling for form.

With De Bruyne joining Napoli on a free transfer this summer, Manchester City fans will be pinning their hopes on their academy graduate to assume the role of architect-in-chief and led their side back to the Premier League title next season.

Manchester City bosses will be hopeful that Foden can return to his best next term, with two years remaining on the England international’s current deal at the Etihad Stadium. It is worth nothing that Foden will have plenty of help around him after the arrival of several new figures to the dressing room this summer.

City’s director of football Hugo Viana has orchestrated a major squad revamp this summer, with the Blues securing the arrival(s) of Rayan Ait-Nouri, Marcus Bettinelli, Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Cherki, Sverre Nypan and James Trafford.

Speaking during a new interview with AskGamblers this week, Liverpool legend Michael Owen was quizzed on whether he had any advice for Manchester City’s Phil Foden, particularly off the back of a hugely difficult season that followed blistering campaigns beforehand.

“It’s not easy. It’s everything with Phil Foden, everything with every Manchester City player or any player in the top teams in the Premier League. It’s done in the gaze of the public eye. If you’re struggling, everybody can see it in performances, or whether you’re not playing,” said Owen.

“He’s such a huge asset to the club. You’d like to think Pep Guardiola is speaking to him all the time about what can be done, how can he bounce back? Are there problems off the pitch? Is it a fitness problem.

“Whatever it is you’d like to think they’d be moving heaven and earth to make sure everything is smoothed over and better because, he’s a generational talent, and people like him don’t come around very often and more than that, a local lad that absolutely embodies everything about the club and you just can’t beat that. You can’t have enough of those,” Owen finished.