Phil Foden has long been touted as the heir to David Silva’s throne and a scintillating display against Liverpool last weekend only added fuel to that fire.
Ahead of City’s Premier League clash with Tottenham today, we take at how Foden’s performances have reached a new level this season — along with what is still to come from England’s hottest prospect.
Rising through the ranks
Foden (pictured above) was always tipped to become a star at Manchester City after making a splash for club and country as a teenager.
He played a starring role in England’s Under-17 World Cup victory in 2017, winning the Golden Ball for his displays, before making his City debut in the Champions League as a 17-year-old.
His England boss at the World Cup was Swansea head coach Steve Cooper, who has not been surprised by his progress.
Cooper said: “It’s always a good thing having ability and potential, but it’s another thing turning it into action — he’s doing that at the moment.
“When you see talents like this at a young age, you work with them and you hope they can progress and get opportunities. Then take those opportunities and flourish.
“It seems to me that from the outset he’s doing that. He’s obviously played in big games and that’s amazing to see.”
Despite those glowing words, it is only this season that the ‘Stockport Iniesta’ has become a regular starter following the departure of long-serving playmaker Silva last summer.
Where is Foden making an impact?
City boss Pep Guardiola has used Foden in several positions this season, demonstrating the 20-year-old’s remarkable versatility.
He was deployed as part of a trio of attacking midfielders as City struggled during the opening weeks of the campaign.
But more recently, Foden has operated on the left side of a 4-3-3 to great effect and even featured as a false nine in 4-1 victory over Liverpool last weekend.
Setting the standard
Foden’s five Premier League goals and three assists this season represent his best return in a sky blue shirt — an improvement on the seven contributions he managed in 2019-20.
But there is far more to the England international’s game than goals.
He has completed 18.09 of his 21.51 passes into the final third per 90 minutes this term and is also creating a high volume of chances, conjuring up an impressive 2.02 in the league on average.
Those figures place Foden in the Premier League’s top 20 players for both metrics, confirming his place among the division’s best creators.
What does Guardiola think?
Despite being critical of his positioning in the first half of the 4-1 victory at Anfield, Guardiola was full of praise for the youngster.
Speaking after the match, he said: “Right now he is moving perfectly as a winger and the second and fourth goals were outstanding and phenomenal.
“He is just 20. He has a huge margin to improve and understand the game a little better.
“The rhythm he plays in as a winger is the rhythm he has to play in the middle. But he has the time to improve it and his mentality.
“He always has the feeling he can do something close to the box.”
A starring role for England?
With phenomenal dribbling skills, devastating finishing ability and an impressive passing range, the sky truly is the limit for Foden.
A wide role in England manager Gareth Southgate’s favoured 3-4-3 formation looks tailor-made for the midfielder, though the competition for attacking places is fierce when factoring in the likes of Jack Grealish, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho.
Nonetheless, the delayed Euro 2020 tournament could well be where Foden takes his reputation to the next level against European football’s elite internationals.
Source: livescore
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