Richard Keys reveals what he's been 'told' about Phil Foden behind the scenes
Richard Keys has made a revelation about Manchester City star Phil Foden amid issues for the England international.
Foden has 10 goals and five assists in the Premier League this season but after a return to form, the midfielder has struggled to show his qualities in recent times and found himself in and out of the City side of late.
In City's last five Premier League games, Foden started just once and his cameo in the hard-fought 2-1 win over Newcastle at the weekend lasted just three minutes.
The 25-year-old has not scored in any competition since a goal against Crystal Palace in December - his fourth in six games at the time.
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City are well stocked in his position and fellow academy product Nico O'Reilly has been shining in an advanced midfield role.
But have been concerns surrounding Foden's form heading into the World Cup after he struggled in City's trophyless 2024/25 campaign.
Following a 19-goal Premier League season which fired City to an unprecedented fourth title in a row and brought a trio of major individual awards, Foden admitted to the BBC that he had "a lot of things going on off the pitch mentally".
He also spoke to the Manchester Evening News about struggling with an ankle injury which contributed to a "difficult season" where he was "mentally fatigued".
Foden hasn't spoken of his recent blip but former Sky Sports presenter Richard Keys has claimed to have some inside information on what is going on with the six-time Premier League winner.
Keys discussed Foden's situation in his recent blog after mentioning Arsenal pair Viktor Gyokeres and Eberechi Eze after their North London derby heroics.
He went on to clam that he has been informed that Foden has difficulties with "being a top end footballer" and hopes he can "conquer" the alleged issue.
"Another player in the same mould as those two is Phil Foden," he wrote.
"He was massive for City in their last title season, scoring 19 goals in 35 appearances. He was every bit as good in the treble season. Never mind Rodri, City aren’t the same for me without Foden.
"Last season wasn’t a good one. He scored just seven goals in 28 appearances - and that word can be deceptive, because the three minute cameo he made against Newcastle at the weekend counts as an ‘appearance’.
"What’s happened? Clearly he doesn’t have a physical injury because he’s always on the bench if he doesn’t start.
"Do you remember Guardiola passing his problems off as ‘illness’ last season? What’s the illness I wonder? I’m told Foden struggles with the demands of being a top end footballer. If that’s true then we can only have a whole lot of sympathy for him and hope it’s something he can conquer."
Five points behind Arsenal with a game in hand, City return to action on Saturday when they travel to Leeds United for a 17:30pm kick-off.
SPORTbible has reached out to Manchester City and Phil Foden's representatives for comment.
Topics: Richard Keys, Premier League, Phil Foden
Josh Lawless