'Be a one-club man': Guardiola urges Foden to follow Haaland and commit future to Manchester City

England midfielder has returned to form with five goals in his last three Premier League games

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  Manchester City's Erling Haaland celebrates with Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden after scoring their fifth goal in the 6-0 Premier League win against Ipswich Town at Portman Road on Sunday, January 19, 2025. Reuters

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  James McAtee of Manchester City scores his team's sixth goal. Getty Images

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  Manchester City's James McAtee celebrates after scoring his side's sixth goal. AP

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  Manchester City's Erling Haaland scores their fifth goal. Reuters

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  Manchester City's Jeremy Doku scores their fourth goal. PA

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  Phil Foden of Manchester City makes it 3-0. Getty Images

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  Manchester City's Mateo Kovacic scores to make it 2-0. Getty Images

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  Phil Foden of Manchester City celebrates scoring his team's first goal with Mateo Kovacic. Getty Images

Pep Guardiola wants Phil Foden to follow in Erling Haaland’s footsteps and commit his entire career to Manchester City.

Haaland this week signed a record-breaking new nine-and-a-half-year contract, potentially keeping him at the club until 2034.

The Norwegian striker celebrated with a goal in Sunday’s 6-0 thrashing of Ipswich, while Foden also scored twice.

England international Foden has been key to City’s recent mini-revival, having scored five goals in his last three Premier League outings.

The 24-year-old was named Premier League Player of the Season for 2023/24 but had struggled to make the same impact during the early months of the current campaign.

His contract runs until 2027, but Guardiola said: “He should not (leave). He can be a one-club man and finish his career here and play many, many years. At his age and with the amount of goals, the amount of games, the amount of assists, his work ethic.

“The biggest quality is that around the box he has goals in his blood, his bones, in his mind. He thinks, ‘I’m going to score’.

“It’s not easy to find. That’s why I want to try to put him in central positions because he has a specific quality.

“We talked many times over the last month or weeks, he was a completely different boy at the beginning of the season with a few problems, because they are human beings and sometimes in a long career you have a setback, it’s normal.

“But we’re really pleased that he’s happy again and enjoying playing and that’s really good for all of us.”

City looked like they are enjoying playing again in posting their biggest Premier League win in more than two years at Portman Road.

Mateo Kovacic, Jeremy Doku and James McAtee were also on target as the champions, who kicked off in eight place, moved above Newcastle United into fourth on goal difference.

It was their biggest league win since hammering Nottingham Forest by the same scoreline in August 2022 and means, following their shocking run towards the end of last year of only one win in 14 matches, they are back in the top four for the first time since December 1.

“For a long time we didn’t perform in the way we have done and the most important thing today was obviously the result, but is the fact they realised what we were. For a long time, for many reasons we weren’t,” added Guardiola.

“The important thing is realising, ‘Oh, when we do this, OK, we can compete or we can be a team enjoying what we like to do’.

“Hopefully the players can feel it. We have talked a lot lately about what we have missed.”

Memories of Ipswich’s 9-0 humiliation by Manchester United 30 years ago came flooding back to many at Portman Road, but, mercifully for them, City declared on six.

Town boss Kieran McKenna said: “It was a painful game for us, no doubt about that. The opponent was too strong for us in all aspects.

“It was a good game for 27 minutes. We could have had the first goal. But after the first goal their confidence and quality went to a level we couldn’t deal with. It was a really difficult day.”