CITY SPECIAL Foden could be the answer for England
YOU don’t have to look too hard to see Pep Guardiola’s influence on England’s bold young team.
Gareth Southgate has been given the courage to stay true to his convictions against the backdrop of City’s record-breaking Premier League title triumph.
From ball-playing centre-backs, encouraged to take risks, to an attack-loaded midfield, with just one anchor, there are elements of Guardiola’s sensibilities running right through England’s World Cup campaign.
But there’s one crucial omission one player who would provide the missing link to a side that has so enthused the nation. David Silva. Southgate has constructed a side with energy, composure and confidence - but without a magician.
Not that he was surprised by the tools at his disposal when taking over the reins from Sam Allardyce.
Southgate had recognised the problem in his previous guise with the FA.
As former head of elite development, he played a key role in securing changes to youth team football that meant children no longer played on adult pitches with full-size goals.
He contributed to the national football centre at St George’s Park and the implementation of the Elite Player Performance Plan.
The idea was to create the technically gifted players who were so crucial to Spain’s success during their years of dominance. To create England’s answer to Silva.
It’s six years since Southgate vacated that post - and the true fruits of his labour are yet to catch up with him now that he is in charge of the senior team.
In truth, he didn’t expect them to in time for this World Cup.
It was during an interview with him in 2012 when he revealed to M.E.N. Sport the fault line in the national game.
“I’ve seen the junior teams and the guys that stood out are already in the seniors,” he said at the time. “Players like Alex Oxlade-chamberlain, Daniel Sturridge and Danny Welbeck are already there. Outside of that it is difficult to see where the next group is coming from.
“It is that creative talent that makes the difference. If you look at the top four or five teams – those players were brought in from abroad. That’s the problem.”
And it remains. Silva has been complemented by Kevin de Bruyne and Bernardo Silva at City. At United it is Paul Pogba and Juan Mata who provide the guile to unlock defences.
Philippe Coutinho was Liverpool’s chief orchestrator before he left for Barcelona in January - Christian Eriksen at Tottenham.
Jesse Lingard and Dele Alli provide penetration and goals from deeper-lying areas - but England still lack a player with the vision or execution to open up tight spaces. It is why Southgate has worked so intently on set-pieces and why Kieran Trippier has become such a key element to his plans in Russia.
The hope is that City may have the answer to both their own and England’s Silva issue.
Phil Foden was barely 12 when Southgate walked away from his elite development role - and at the age of 18 now, he has shown enough to convince Guardiola he has a gem on his hands.
Diminutive, technically superb and brave in possession, Foden is the epitome of what Southgate hoped to produce. With Silva, Bernardo, De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan ahead of him, he faces a battle to get on the pitch with any sort of regularity in the near future.
If he does, Southgate may just have his missing link.