‘Foden can fill Kevin’s shoes’
KYLE WALKER believes Phil Foden has the ability and maturity to help Manchester City fill the void left by Kevin De Bruyne.
Foden, the star of England’s Under-17 World Cup triumph last year, is one of a number of midfielders who could cover for De Bruyne’s absence amid fears the Belgium international could be out for up to three months.
Academy graduate Foden made 10 senior appearances last season, won a Premier League title medal and justified Pep Guardiola’s decision not to loan him out this season by impressing in the Community Shield win over Chelsea.
England defender Walker said: “Obviously Kevin is a big loss but we’ve got more than enough cover.
“Phil’s a great player, he’s got great attitude and he’s a great lad. He wants to learn, he’s keen to listen.
“I’ve met a lot of young players throughout my career who’ve kind of got a chip on their shoulder but he’s definitely not one of them. He’s one of those who wants to learn and he shows that in his performances.
“Phil was very fortunate in his first season around the squad to pick up a Premier League medal – not many kids can say that they’ve done that. But he’s not rested on that.
“He could have come back from the summer, not really trained hard, gone and partied or whatever, which young kids do nowadays. But he’s not done that.
“He’s been working hard – he was even at the World Cup in Russia [as a fan] so that’s how much he loves the game of football.
“I don’t think you have to put your arm around him because he’s not that type of person.”
De Bruyne, injured in training on Wednesday, is due to fly to Barcelona to have his right knee examined by specialist Dr Ramon Cugat and is thought to have damaged a lateral ligament.