Less than a month remains for Pep Guardiola to get his Manchester City team ready for another run at the Premier League championship, and the Catalan will already be planning how to keep in shape.
The perfect first game for City’s 2023/2024 season will take place on Friday night when they go to Turf Moor; it will include Guardiola and Kompany, a master and an apprentice, as well as the Premier League champions and the Championship champions. The 52-year-old will be playing in England for the eighth time, and he is once again the opponent to watch out for.
Guardiola has done an outstanding job of continuously changing his City team to keep opponents off-balance, whether it be by flipping his wingers, turning full-backs into midfielders, or – and this may be the most revolutionary of all – by positioning a huge No. 9 up top and letting him run wild.
He prevents his own players from getting accustomed to their places and being too comfortable by changing a few players’ positions every summer. This keeps his opponents on their toes as well. A person may always improve.
It’s risky and simple to appear foolish by speculating about what Guardiola might do, but this season might be the turning point for Phil Foden. The 23-year-old had a challenging season last time around, the first plateau in a career that had previously only gone in one direction.
With a stellar run of play, Jack Grealish claimed the left flank position as his own, and the former Aston Villa star is predicted to continue to improve. But Foden could potentially get what he’s always wanted rather than sit out another season.
The Blues academy graduate has made it clear that he wants to play midfield in the future, but there have only been a few chances for him to do so.
In March, Foden declared, “It’s something I certainly want to move into over the next few years. I have always imagined myself performing there. My goal is to adjust and develop into a midfielder.
“I think there might be a chance for me. The manager knows I like to score goals and prefers to play me wide. I like to play wherever I am.
Currently, City’s midfield has a lot of options and is in a similar state as it was in the previous campaign. The absence of Ilkay Gundogan’s expertise will be sorely felt, but Mateo Kovacic’s arrival will help cover the void.
The problem comes if Bernardo Silva leaves, and links with the likes of Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain suggest he might. That would leave City a man down in midfield, but with Kevin De Bruyne out of action with a hamstring tear and Kovacic needing time to settle in, Guardiola will be lacking in the advanced midfield areas.
The City manager has expressed worries about Foden’s reading of the game in key areas and his lack of awareness in midfield. However, such attributes can only develop with frequent game action, and the preseason is the ideal time to start that process.
Later this month, the team will embark on a preseason trip of Japan and South Korea, and Guardiola will have three games in a week to build the groundwork for the next campaign. Before the travel to Burnley, the Community Shield match against Arsenal will serve as the final dress rehearsal for another significant campaign.
If Guardiola allows Foden to play in the middle, a streak of strong preseason displays may lead to the move he’s always desired.