January saw the start of a new year, and after the hectic festive period, you’d be forgiven for expecting several players to show signs of fatigue and a dip in form. Despite this, the busy football calendar pushed on as we had the remaining Champions League games, the FA Cup 3rd round and of course plenty of league action also. As a result, some teams and players used the new year as an opportunity to kickstart their season and reach the next level as we enter the second half of the campaign.

This months NextGoalWinner player of the month winner is a player who did exactly that, as the end of 2024 had been pretty disappointing for his side, however January saw him take a leading role in turning around their form and returning to the top level that they had experienced in recent years.

Phil Foden has played a pivotal role in helping Manchester City cruise comfortably into the FA Cup 4th round, avoid an embarrassing early Champions League exit and push on in their quest for the top 4 after the poor start to the season they’ve experienced. With 7 appearances in the month, his league form was remarkable as Foden bagged 6 goals and 1 assist in the league, plus his FA Cup assist bringing his goal contributions to 8 across the 7 appearances.

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Match By Match

January 4th: Manchester City 4-1 West Ham United – Starting off the year in style, City took just 10 minutes of their first game of 2025 to take the lead against West Ham. Foden played a key role across the 90 minutes, and it was his 58th minute finish which saw the Englishman start his 2025 goal contributions to make it 4-0 at that point. Despite West Ham’s consolation goal late on, it was nowhere near enough to stop City picking up a much needed strong start to the year. With Haaland’s brace and Savinho’s 2 assists, Foden couldn’t take the headlines, but his 8.5/10 FotMob rating was deserved as he started his year in some style.

January 14th: Brentford 2-2 Manchester City – After a dominant victory in the FA Cup 3rd round, in which Foden bagged his first assist of the year, it was back to league action and a sign that some of the frailties in City’s season still remained. Despite their strong opening performances, the draw against Brentford will have disappointed Guardiola, especially given they threw away a 2 goal lead. This didn’t detract from the brilliant Foden showing however, as his brace gave City their 2 goal lead, with goals in the 66th and 78th minute. His MOTM showing was worthy of a 9.1/10 FotMob rating due to his goals, and strong all round play with 100% duels won, 100% cross accuracy and 3 shots on goal. Another strong showing which although not resulting in 3 wins from 3, Foden was showing his top quality.

January 19th: Ipswich Town 0-6 Manchester City – Brushing off their dropped points away at Brentford, City took a trip to Ipswich just 5 days later and took out their frustrations on the relegation threatened side. Foden opened the scoring in this one on the 27th minute, before adding a second just before half time. Back to back braces saw Foden again claim MOTM as he also was provider for the Kovacic goal which made it 2-0 early on. With his incredible first 45 producing 3 goal contributions, Foden was worthy of his 9.2/10 FotMob rating and showing consistent levels of threat in City’s attack, much needed for their upcoming European clashes.

January 25th: Manchester City 3-1 Chelsea – Sandwiched between their 2 European games away at PSG in which City threw away their lead to be beaten comfortably, and their necessary win at home to Club Brugge in which Foden played but didn’t stand-out too much, City hosted Chelsea in the return fixture from the opening game of their season. With City securing an unbeaten domestic month, Foden rounded off his fantastic series of performances in the league with the 3rd goal to seal the victory and an 8.4/10 FotMob rating. With the disappointment of the PSG defeat hanging over City, and the pressure that was building ahead of the clash with Brugge, it would have been understandable for the team to crumble after they went behind in the 3rd minute, but the City attack stepped up when needed, and although it was a late goal for Foden to make it 3-1, the performance once again was hugely influential in securing the 3 points against a top 4 rival.