Phil Foden has revealed that he has been working on one specific thing quite a lot in Manchester City training in recent times.
The 24-year-old has just finished his best season for the club, scoring 27 goals and making 12 assists across all competitions for City.
He finished the campaign as the FWA Footballer of the Year, the Premier League Player of the Season, and the Etihad Player of the Season for City.
Foden stepped up so many times in 2023/24, especially when the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland were both out injured. The academy graduate had a lot of success playing in the middle, a position he has said several times now is his favourite.
Popping up in the middle has allowed Foden to score some brilliant goals, and there’s one specific kind of goal he admits he’s been working hard to score more often…
Phil Foden says he’s worked a lot on his edge-of-the-box shooting for Manchester City
Foden’s catalogue of goals this season has been highly impressive.
The star has really impressed with his finishing, and midway through the season, he earned the nickname ‘The Sniper’ from his teammates for his deadly accuracy and power.
There is one kind of goal that Foden scored a few times in 2023/24, and this ‘trademark’ of his was put to him during an interview by the club.
It is where Foden picks the ball up from a central-right position and shifts it to his left, before arrowing the ball in to far corner, often with minimal backlift. We saw him do this against Manchester United, Real Madrid and West Ham United on the final day of the Premier League season.
Speaking about this, Foden said (via mancity.com): “I think I spoke on my position, being more central and being on the edge of the box as well.
“I think I can do this a lot more. It’s something I also work on in training a lot, shooting outside the box.
“That’s a big part of my game, and I think this season I’ve shown that I can score special goals.”
You can tell
Foden’s shooting from distance has definitely gotten a lot better in recent times, and it’s to the point now where opponents simply cannot give him space in the edge of the box.
The ace can really put his foot through it, and has a fantastic technique when shooting from the edge of the box. He is not the biggest, but he can generate so much power and often leaves goalkeepers stranded.
Last term, he scored six goals from outside the box in the Premier League, which was twice as many as any other player in the division.
Hopefully, Pep Guardiola will continue to deploy Foden centrally next season, as he is clearly a major threat there.
He relishes that role, so to shunt him back out wide would be a bit disappointing – surely it just won’t happen.