Enzo Maresca reveals he made personal phone call to Phil Foden after England World Cup snub | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca has revealed he personally reached out to Jeremy Doku and Phil Foden over the summer, setting out a clear plan to revive the latter after a difficult recent period for club and country.

Doku is currently on holiday after representing Belgium at the FIFA World Cup in North America off the back of his best season in a Manchester City shirt in Pep Guardiola’s final term as Blues manager.

Meanwhile, Foden was snubbed by England manager Thomas Tuchel for the hallmark tournament across the Atlantic after another indifferent season and ups and downs for the 26-year-old, who signed a new long-term deal at his boyhood club last week.

Maresca: “I told Phil it’s my duty to try to help him back”

Speaking at his first press conference as Manchester City head coach, Maresca described the conversations he proactively initiated and the thinking behind each one.

“I spoke with the ones that contacted me, and the only two players I contacted has been Jeremy – because he became a dad when he was at the World Cup – and the other one has been Phil when he was left out of the squad, just to have a chat with him,” said Maresca. “Then the rest, I spoke with some of them that called me.”

On his specific intentions for Foden this season, the Italian added: “I just want to help Phil to be the Phil that we all know, but especially the Phil that we all want.

“First of all for him, because he needs to enjoy football and in general. Second, because I know how good is Phil. With Phil in a good shape and good mood, we can win games.”

Maresca drew on Foden’s own track record at the club to frame the challenge as one of restoration rather than reinvention. The former Chelsea boss said: “Again, in the season of the Treble he was fantastic, the season after I think he won Premier League Player of the Season.

“Now he’s struggled a little bit, but I told him that it’s my duty to try to help him and to have him back in the way we all want. He’s from this house, he’s from here, so I think it’s a nice feeling for me to try to help Phil, but also I think Phil is a fan of the club, so it’s nice for him to be back.”

What does Maresca’s approach to Foden tell us about his Man City plans?

Foden has since signed a new four-year contract at the Etihad Stadium until 2030, and his commitment to the club is widely understood to have been shaped in part by the confidence he has in working alongside Maresca again, having described the Italian as “brilliant” during the treble season.

The framing of Foden’s recent struggles as something Maresca views as “my duty” to address is significant – positioning the manager not as a passive beneficiary of the player’s recovery but as an active architect of it, with a specific and personal investment in helping him rediscover his best form.

That level of personal engagement, replicated across a squad that includes Elliot Anderson, Doku, Rodri and others returning from the World Cup, will take time to translate into results on the pitch – but the early evidence from Maresca’s first press conference is of a manager who understands exactly what each of his key players needs to hear.

For director of football Hugo Viana and the club’s hierarchy, the picture Maresca has painted of his summer – proactive, precise and deeply human in its approach – will confirm everything that made him their choice to lead Manchester City into the next era of its history.