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It has been a slow and painful decline for Phil Foden this season.
From the remarkable highs of winning a fourth consecutive Premier League title, largely inspired by his own contributions in front of goal, his first senior top-flight Player of the Season award and other individual accolades, to being on the fringes of Pep Guardiola's plans, nobody quite knows what has gone so terribly wrong for the Stockport-born playmaker.
Many, including myself, thought in time we would see a natural return to form and the usual excellent standards set by Foden himself as the ongoing season went on, but it seems as though more the opposite has taken place.
A somewhat rare start was handed to the 24-year-old against Southampton on Saturday as Guardiola looked to make use of Foden's eye for goal by placing the Englishman up alongside Erling Haaland in the attacking third.
Instead, we saw a showcase of a player severely lacking in fitness, bereft of confidence, falling short when it came to a tactical understanding of what was being expected of him, and quite evidently a player crying out for an extended break from the game.
And with Manchester City closing out their season in the coming weeks, albeit with a crucial top-five finish on the agenda and an FA Cup final coming up, perhaps Foden should be granted an opportunity to step away from duties with the club until the start of next season. Yes, that does include the Fifa Club World Cup.
Having won everything available to him all by the age of just 23, with the weight of the world on his shoulders and an expectance to succeed like no other Manchester City academy player has had in the past, perhaps this is a concerning example of burnout.
There is not one onlooker who wants to see this Foden decline continue any further than it already has, and Manchester City simply must do what is absolutely best and allow one of their prized assets an extended break to regain that hunger and energy for the game he most certainly loves.
Find more from Freddie Pye at City Xtra
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