Stroll by the sea for rampant Blues
City midfielder now doing everything he needs to get a call-up to the senior England squad this year
Foden can be the missing link in Southgate’s preparations for Euro 2020 next year
PHIL Foden’s future won’t be determined by a seven-game spell, but the City midfielder has not taken any chances since football returned.
When the Premier League season was suspended in March, the Blues knew the Premier League title was beyond them, so they were able to give Foden the chance to get some valuable league experience without the pressure of a title race.
Seven appearances later, six of which have come in the league, and the youngster is doing exactly what manager Pep Guardiola wanted from him by showing his promise on a consistent basis.
Foden is displaying that he is ready to make the step up and become one of the core group of senior players.
His form will also be interesting England boss Gareth Southgate, who has repeatedly said Foden will only get a call-up to the England national squad when he is playing regularly.
“It’s great that we are developing these players, but the obvious thing is he has got to play. If he’s not playing regularly, it’s going to be more difficult for him,” Southgate said last month.
“But if he can break into City’s team, he will clearly be playing at a very high level - and he will be in our squad, without a doubt.”
Now Foden has broken into the City team - and doesn’t show any signs of throwing his place away - surely he has to be in Southgate’s plans for the next international break in September. His task between now and the end of the season is to continue performing.
And if he does get that first call-up, he will offer Southgate something he hasn’t had with England since taking over - creativity from central midfield.
“It’s quite interesting we are seeing the sort of player like Mason [Mount] and Phil Foden in that sort of advanced midfield role,” Southgate continued. “Phil is definitely a different sort of player, with attributes that are rare in our game, and we’ve had such high hopes for him in the England system for quite a while.”
If his current form is anything to go by, Foden will give England a creative midfield option that is their main weakness in the current squad.
Jordan Henderson is a mainstay, but is more defensiveminded. Eric Dier, Declan Rice and Harry Winks are all safe options, but none will make the attacking impact that Foden would.
Perhaps Dele Alli or Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could fulfil the creative role, but a mixture of injury problems and poor form has seen both of their international careers stall in the last couple of years.
So in Foden, Southgate has a unique option available to connect a solid midfield to an exciting attack of Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Raheem Sterling.
If his form at City is anything to go by, Foden can be the missing link in Southgate’s preparations for the rescheduled Euro 2020 tournament.
That postponement has given Foden an extra year to break into the senior team, something he wouldn’t have done without the break for the pandemic.
All he needs to do is continue the form he has shown recently. If he does, there appears to be a ready-made place for club and country waiting for him.