Pep’s tip for Euro star Foden

PEP GUARDIOLA would not divulge whether this is by accident or design, but Phil Foden has become a European specialist. Tonight, a dead rubber with Marseille should be his fifth consecutive Champions League start, the 12th of the youngster’s fledgling career. By comparison, he has been named among Manchester City’s Premier League XI on just 16 occasions since a full debut two years ago. The calls for Foden’s regular inclusion are growing louder and it is striking that he has sat on City’s bench in each of the last six League fixtures. Meanwhile, he has been key in the smooth passage to the Champions League knockout stages. ‘Phil has been top all season,’ said Guardiola yesterday. ‘He has to improve with the final decisions in the 18-yard box. He has to be more patient in that moment, but that is his age.’

What 20-year-old Foden may lack in experience he more than makes up for in energy and purpose. StatSports, who provide analysis for Premier League clubs, record him as the second-quickest midfielder and the 10th-quickest player overall. A typical top-flight midfielder completes 900 metres of ‘highspeed running’ per game, but Foden’s average is more than 200m higher. Foden outstrips his peers when it comes to high-intensity actions — the kind of movement that can help unlock stubborn defences which City sometimes toil against. Again, he is 200m up on the average. Guardiola’s performance staff are always telling Foden to ease up but he usually resists. When his manager describes him as ‘like a little boy’, this is what he means. He does not want to stop. Generally there is more zip when Foden plays, evident when he dragged City to a point off the bench at West Ham in October. Where he is stationed is a source of interest. Although tipped as the heir to David Silva, he often plays out wide and Guardiola says that a place in central midfield is some way off. The wide attacking positions are usually taken by Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez, with Ferran Torres and Bernardo Silva among those in reserve. Kevin De Bruyne normally plays behind the striker. If his boss does not utilise him in midfield, there are not obvious holes for Foden to fill in League matches when everybody is fit. Only one Premier League midfielder, Harvey Barnes, has scored more than Foden’s 10 goals from open play this