PUP GUARDIOLA

He’s 18.. he’s City’s midfield magician.. he’s heading for the top.. but Pep will treat fantastic Foden with kid gloves

KYLE WALKER believes rising star Phil Foden is heading for the top because Pep Guardiola will not allow him to be “swallowed up” by England recognition too soon.

In exalted company, Foden turned in a mature performance as champions Manchester City tuned up for their defence of the title in ominous style at Wembley on Sunday.

He may have suffered from cramp (below) but the 18-year-old midfielder impressed World Cup defender Walker.

“Phil has trained with us all last year

– and what a talent he is,” said Walker.

“This is a kid who wants to learn, which is rare these days, because you see a lot of youngsters coming through with a little bit of a chip on their shoulder.

“It’s full credit to him, and probably to his family as well, for what he does and the work he puts in. He wants to learn, so it’s a pleasure to play with him.

“I believe it’s too early to talk about England for him – he just needs to be nurtured and to come through the right way.

“We have seen a lot of people being given the opportunity too early and it kind of swallows them up.

“Let’s just let him keep playing football and leave it up to other people to make those decisions.” The emergence of

Under-17 World Cup winner Foden (right, with boss Guardiola) as a genuine option in City’s extravagant stockpile of midfield options underlines why they will be the team to beat when a new Premier League season opens.

Foden and skipper Vincent Kompany (above) lifted the Community Shield, and Walker says the champions will aim for a repeat of their record 100-point haul last term as the benchmark.

He said: “Everyone knows their place is not safe. Week in, week out you have to perform to the level the manager wants, and the standard is very high, I can assure you.

“You have to maintain that level or you are sat on the bench next to him. At any level of football – and as an international, I have played at the World Cup – the bare minimum is running around and showing desire for the shirt.

“Of course you can’t just run around like headless chickens, but I think we all have a football brain and sometimes you can almost play the game with a blindfold on because you know where people are, but that is down to his coaching skills.

“We are striving to achieve big things this season and we have put down a good marker against a good side with a top coach.

“We played against Napoli in the Champions League last year and they were fantastic, so to do what we did to Chelsea in the Community Shield is a big step in the right direction. “What we achieved last year was incredible. To get 100 points, and how we did it in the last game, was incredible. But as experienced players, I feel we have to demand last season’s standard as the bare minimum. “We achieved big things, but we cannot stop. We have to try to improve.”