Phil Foden new Man City contract is yet another warning shot to Liverpool FC

Regardless of how Manchester City get on against Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, the Blues have already fired their latest warning to their closest title rivals of recent years.

On Friday City announced that Phil Foden had signed a new five-year contract with the club, putting an end to the speculation regarding his future that has followed him around for the best part of a year. With Foden's old deal set to expire in 2024, City had been keen to tie the academy graduate to new terms; this three-year extension means that, all being well, he will be a City player until 2027.

READ MORE: Why Phil Foden signed 'dream' new Man City contract

Foden committing his long-term future to the club he has supported all his life means an awful lot not just to him and the club, but to City supporters. You won't find a City fan who felt a pang of sentimentality when Foden and summer signing Erling Haaland - also a childhood fan of the Blues - both scored hat-tricks in the Manchester derby earlier this month, not because of the occasion but because of who was inflicting the pain on City's arch-rivals.

In recent years Liverpool have become gatekeepers of the 'this means more' mentality, adamant that they are the only club rooted in its community with local lads turning into local heroes. City have not always been able to claim the latter, but they can now.

Emotion aside, securing the long-term future of a player who, despite still only being 22, is one of the best players in Pep Guardiola's squad is a real statement of intent from City. The Blues have won four of the last five Premier League titles, with Liverpool winning the other. In two of City's triumphant campaigns, Jurgen Klopp's side pushed them all the way and finished just a point