Phil Foden's role at Manchester City has become a topic of intense debate, and the story of his season is anything but straightforward. As the campaign winds down, the 25-year-old Englishman is on track to record his highest number of appearances in a single season across all competitions. Yet, when you dig into the numbers—starts and minutes played—this is far from his most influential year.

It's a curious paradox. Foden has actually made more starts than several of his teammates, including Rayan Cherki, Jeremy Doku, Omar Marmoush, Savinho, and January signing Antoine Semenyo, if you exclude last summer's Club World Cup. However, despite this, he often feels like a player on the fringes of City's title charge. Even as a new contract has been agreed upon, signaling strong faith from manager Pep Guardiola, the question lingers: what exactly is Foden's role, and is he delivering when it matters?

To understand the situation, you have to look back at the high bar Foden set during City's Treble-winning 2023-24 season. That year, he was unstoppable, racking up a career-high 27 goals and 12 assists. But the following two seasons have been less prolific, and his function in the side has shifted. The faster, more direct options like Doku and Semenyo have taken up wide roles, feeding the league's top scorer, Erling Haaland, while Cherki has often been preferred as the creative playmaker in an attacking midfield spot.

This reshuffle has pushed Foden into a deeper position at times, limiting his ability to score and deliver those killer passes. When you look at his attacking numbers per 90 minutes, they don't stack up favorably against his teammates in sky blue. So, the big question remains: how do you get the best out of Phil Foden? And with a new deal on the table, is he still the game-changer City needs?