CHILD’S PLAY FOR FODEN
Boss Pep hopes City star will slow down when his third kid arrives!
PEP GUARDIOLA says Phil Foden is stuck in sixth gear but having a third child might finally slow him down.
Manchester City forward Foden, 23, is enjoying the season of his life and this week his four-year-old son Ronnie announced on social media that his mum and dad are expecting their third child.
Foden, who has scored 24 goals in all competitions, is among the favourites to be voted player of the year and yet Guardiola insists the England star can still improve.
The Spaniard says Foden always plays at top speed when he should learn to slow down and catch opposing defenders by surprise when he turns on the turbo jets.
City boss Guardiola said: “I would love him to go in sixth gear in every single action but that way you are less precise, you lose the ball, and that is not effective.
“You have to know the moments when you need to be more aggressive and when you need to be calm. But it’s a question of time. He can improve a lot and has improved a lot from the beginning of the season. Maybe with his third kid coming, that will help him!
“He can’t play all the time in that sixth gear, sometimes he has to play in second or third. In time, he will learn that.
“Sometimes you have to play slower so you can surprise the opponent when you turn up the speed.
“He will understand the game through years and experiences. It’s going to take time but he loves to play and his work rate is unbelievable.”
Foden’s double at Brighton on Thursday night pushed City to within a point of leaders Arsenal and they have a game in hand. It means City are redhot favourites to win the title for an unprecedented fourth consecutive year, whil Foden’s stand-out season makes him favourite for individual awards.
However, Guardiola says he believes that Foden would actually prefer to win another Premier League title.
When asked whether Foden would be his choice as player of the year, Guardiola added: “He is one of them. But I have a feeling that what he wants most is the Premier League.”
Foden is 10-11 favourite to win the PFA Player Of The Year award. Etihad pal Rodri comes next at 5-2 followed by Declan Rice at 8-1, Ollie Watkins and Cole Palmer at 10-1, and Martin Odegaard at 12-1.
The England star believes City’s experience of winning titles will prove decisive in the three-way race with Arsenal and Liverpool.
Foden said: “There are three teams involved and you can’t drop many points. It’s a challenging season – we’ve got a quick turnaround for the next game, and we have to try and get ready. The gaffer gave us two days off this week and it helped us to come back in the best shape we could.
“We knew we had to be right at it and the two days off definitely helped us. We don’t think too far ahead, we take it game by game like we’ve done before and look forward to the challenge.
“We’ve done it before when we’ve needed to win the last how many games. We’ve got the experience to go on and win every game. We’re a calm team and don’t think too far ahead - we focus on ourselves. We have to take it game by game and see where it takes us.”
City are 2-5 favourites for the title, with Arsenal 9-4. Liverpool, favourites three weeks ago, have now drifted out to 33-1 following the midweek defeat at
Everton.