Phil Foden has signed a five-year deal with Manchester City that will keep him at the club until 2027.
The 22-year-old was already under contract at the Etihad until 2024, but he has ended all speculation about his immediate future by agreeing to the extension on improved terms.
Foden, a boyhood fan of the club, joined the City academy system aged nine years old and has gone on to play for them 182 times, scoring 52 times in all, including a hat-trick recently in the derby against Manchester United.
He already has four Premier League, one FA Cup and four League Cup winners’ medals in his collection at home under Pep Guardiola.
Foden has been voted the PFA Young Player of the Year for the past two seasons and is a nailed-on certainty of being part of Gareth Southgate’s England squad when it is announced next week.
Now attention will turn to other personnel who City wants to tie down to new deals, with the top of the list being their manager Guardiola.
As things stand, the Spaniard’s existing deal is set to expire at the end of the current campaign, and when asked about the matter, he has shrugged off speculation, insisting that this is not something he is currently thinking about.
On the downside is that Guardiola has already stayed with City longer than he remained in any of his other jobs.
He lasted four years in Barcelona. Despite enjoying unparalleled success with the club he closely identifies with as a former player and fan, he was so burned out by the end that he had to take a year’s sabbatical from the game.
He resumed his career with Bayern Munich, but after three years in Germany, he packed his bags for England and City. Next May, he will be 52 and would have been in Manchester for seven years by then. Will he fancy a new challenge or look to take another break?
On the other hand, for all the trophies he has won in England, success in the Champions League continues to elude him, although they did lose in 2021 final to Chelsea. He may not want to leave the club with that piece of unfinished business outstanding.
And, whilst there have been suggestions that he might at some stage want to manage in the MLS, he will be aware that, in terms of competitiveness, that is a step-down. He may not yet be ready to take a back seat.
