Phil Foden defeats Arsenal and Chelsea stars en route to 2024 FWA Footballer of the Year award | OneFootball

Manchester City’s Phil Foden has been crowned 2023/24 Men’s Footballer of the Year by the Football Writers’ Association, it has been announced on Friday.

The Manchester City Academy graduate is enjoying his finest personal season to date since his breakthrough into the club’s first team squad back in 2017, offering greater influence in the goalscoring department through his new-found role in the centre of the park.

With the absence of Kevin De Bruyne for the large part of the campaign due to injury, Foden has been required to operate in the advanced midfield role, whilst also being utilised in wider operations in certain matches.

Across Phil Foden’s 48 matches in all competitions to date, the Manchester City star has recorded an outstanding 24 goals and provided a further 10 assists, offering match-winning moments for Pep Guardiola’s side throughout the season.

And it is that form that has now been recognised by football writers from across the country, who have voted Phil Foden for one of the highest available accolades in the top-level professional game.

As per confirmation from the Football Writers’ Association on Friday, Manchester City and England star Phil Foden has been voted 2023/24 Men’s Footballer of the Year with 42 per cent of the overall votes.

The 23-year-old playmaker beat competition from Arsenal’s Declan Rice in second and his Manchester City team-mate Rodri, who came third. Martin Odegaard, Ollie Watkins, and Cole Palmer made up the rest of the top six, while another 12 players received votes from the FWA.

Reacting to the news, Phil Foden told the FWA, “Being named the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year is a huge honour. I’m very, very happy to receive this award but I could not have done it without the help of my team-mates.

“We have a very special squad of players at City, and I’m privileged to be a part of that group. I want to thank all my team-mates as well as Pep and the coaches for all the support and advice they have given me.”

The Manchester City midfielder continued, “I strive to be the best that I can be every single day and that is all down to the way the manager and my colleagues always seek to improve and get better.

“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who voted for me as well as my fellow nominees. I’m immensely proud to have won this award. Now I am focused on seeking to finish the season as strongly as possible and to try to help City win more trophies.”

Manchester City remain in contention for an unprecedented fourth successive Premier League title this season, and know that it will become a reality if they manage to win all of their remaining four matches in the competition.

After this weekend’s meeting with Wolves at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City travel to London for a double header away to Fulham and Tottenham in the space of five days, before closing out the season at home to West Ham.

An FA Cup final against rivals Manchester United will be Manchester City’s final game of the season, in a repeat of last season’s showpiece at Wembley Stadium that set the club en route to their historic Treble success in the Champions League final in Istanbul.