Foden will be ‘incredible for next 10 years’
GUARDIOLA HAILS CITY ACE - AND SAYS HE IS READY FOR ENGLAND
PHIL Foden has already played and excelled - in three different positions for City.
But Pep Guardiola is already planning for a day when the 20-yearold adds another string to his bow, and learns how to play as a holding midfielder.
The Blues boss also made it plain to England manager Gareth Southgate that the Stockport lad is ready for his international call-up, with the Nations League due to resume in September. Foden was superb in the 4-0 thrashing of Liverpool on Thursday night, playing in the right-wing berth in which he was also named man of the match in the Carabao Cup final win over Aston Villa.
He has also looked good on the left of the front three, and was named by Guardola as one of the reasons the club is not in the market for a replacement for the departed Leroy Sane.
And, of course, Foden has long been touted as the natural replacement for David Silva as a central, attacking midfielder who plays between the lines, perhaps the toughest gig on the City team.
The way he linked with Kevin de Bruyne for the third City goal against Liverpool was classic Silva - but with a better finish!
But Guardiola tantalisingly offered a glimpse of a future where Foden can also take the holding role.
For now, the manager wants him to play high up the field, because he has an eye for an opening and a clear eye for goal.
He said: “He’s a midfield player but in time he’s going to learn to play as a holding midfielder, even, because he has the ability to learn.
“But I don’t want to dismiss the chance to play him close to the box because he has something special.
“We make a game in the training session and when you score four, five, six goals, this guy scores all the time two, three.
“He has a sense of goal, the mentality to be incredibly aggressive. When he takes the ball he is incredibly aggressive against central defenders and shoots and finishes.
“We cannot lose or waste this incredible quality, it is so difficult to find the quality that he has.”
Guardiola also offered a deeper insight into the attitude which has served Foden well in the last three years, when he has had to be patient and await his chance.
“All the managers around the world love to work with good players,” he said. “The success we have in our careers as managers is because we are training incredible, outstanding players and Phil is one of them.
“I would love all the players in the academy, his mates, to look at his behaviour in training sessions.
“The difference from Phil is the behaviour, never regret or one bad face or complaint.
“Play five minutes, 90 minutes, don’t play? The day after he doesn’t play he goes into training and is like a little boy and wants to play and fight and score goals.
“That’s why he deserves it, I am more than satisfied for him because
he is an incredible reality and it is incredible news for us.
“At City we can count on him for years to come - as a midfield player, as a winger, as a striker because he has an incredible sense of goal and vision.
“What we have done with him is try to protect him so that he doesn’t play every game. But he has an incredible thing that makes me have no doubt he can be an incredible player for the next 10 years.
“Every action is positive in training sessions. He’s a huge competitor, he scores incredible goals, he is so fast, defensively so strong and he is a reality.”
Foden has bided his time, but an England call-up now seems an inevitability, with him operating at the top level and arguably being City’s best player since the resumption after the lockdown.
“What is important is he trusts us and he wants to stay here and play with us,” said Guardiola.
“He is a Man City fan and you know how we take care of the academy. Look at Eric Garcia, he plays against Salah, Firmino, Mane.
“He’s just 18, 19, he took an incredible injury against Arsenal trains just three or four days after ten days out and plays awesome.
“He doesn’t make any mistakes, he is always focused, he guards the line he knows exactly what he has to do, his decision making is always right.
“That is why we are so proud as a club to be able to count on Eric and Phil for the academy.
“We can count on them without a doubt because we know exactly the difference is the mentality, how they train, how they listen, how they want to improve and become better players.
“When that happens, it is the best present a club and a manager can get. Both played incredible and are a reality for our club in the next years.
“I don’t want to say anything wrong but Gareth Southgate has an incredible talent for the national team on his hands.
“I saw many players in my life, I trained with incredible players and Phil will be one of them.”