Keith Wyness: My Man City contacts are all telling me the same thing about Phil Foden's issues

Phil Foden is currently lacking confidence which has contributed to his dip in form at Manchester City.

That is according to ex-Everton, Aston Villa, and Aberdeen chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, who has spoken to his contacts at the Etihad on the latest on Foden.

The midfielder has seen game time limited recently, and has not scored a goal for Man City since a 3-0 win over Crystal Palace in December.

Rayan Cherki was preferred over Foden in the number 10 role in Man City’s 2-0 victory over Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final, with the 25-year-old only coming on as a substitute in the 90th minute.

Foden’s contract at Man City expires in 2027, and his recent form may have put plans for a new deal on hold for now.

Phil Foden has suffered ‘huge dip in personal confidence’

Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – thinks Foden’s performances on the pitch could be linked to “problems” in his personal life.

Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast, Wyness believes the midfielder is a “joy to watch” when on his best form.

He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “The stories and the people I’ve spoken to, my contacts at City, are all saying it’s just confidence. 

“He’s definitely had a huge dip in personal confidence. Often I’ve seen it once or twice with players that I’ve had at clubs. 

“Obviously I’ve never been the manager, but I’ve been close to the managers, and I’ve talked it through with them. They’ve seen players get what you call imposter syndrome where they suddenly can’t believe that they are as good as everybody thinks they are and as well as they play.

“They start not believing in themselves anymore and they start to doubt their abilities, and it’s often connected with problems in their personal life, and I think Foden has had some of those, and I think there’s just that lack of confidence that has ebbed away.

“Suddenly he just doesn’t start to believe in himself and Foden, to me, has always been one of those sort of bulletproof, overly confident players who’s thrived on that and if that’s missing from his game mentally, then he’s no longer the player he was, but it can come back, and I hope it does come back.

“I think he’s a joy to watch when he comes in and he starts doing the things that you think are impossible and he manages to do them.” 

Foden contract talks ongoing

Sources have told Football Insider that Foden could be open to moving abroad and leaving Man City if his contract situation can not be resolved.

Foden wants a guarantee of greater playing time at the Etihad as his place in the England team could also be under threat ahead of this summer’s World Cup.

Man City would ideally not wish to lose Foden to a European rival, and contract talks are set to continue in a bid to find a resolution.

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