Elfsborg bid to keep hold of Thelin amid Dons’ interest
◆ The forward continued his excellent season with a treble against Aston Villa
Swedish club Elfsborg say they will fight to keep manager Jimmy Thelin at the club despite interest from Aberdeen and potential other suitors.
The Swede has been persistently linked with the managerial vacancy at Pittodrie, with Aberdeen continuing their search for a permanent boss to succeed Barry Robson, who was sacked in January.
But Elfsborg director Stefan Andreasson has reiterated the Allsvenskan team’s desire for Thelin to remain in post.
“In the best of worlds, it’s like with players, that you sell the coach,” Andreasson said. “But when the right option comes for Jimmy, we will find a solution to it.
"There is interest and options for him, but we have concluded in our dialogues that he should continue with Elfsborg. Then we will see what the future holds, we are proud that he is a sought after name.”
Aberdeen dispensed with Robson in January following a 1-1 draw with Dundee and the team languishing in the Premiership’s bottom six. Veteran English coach Neil Warnock was then given the job until the end of the season, only to leave at the start of March, claiming the Dons were close to finalising a permanent appointment.
That, however, did not materialise over the international break, and coach Peter Leven remains in caretaker charge of the Dons for their league match against Livingston tomorrow afternoon, having guided Aberdeen to recent victories over Motherwell and Ross County.
Aberdeen also have a Scottish Cup semi-final to look forward to on April 20 at Hampden against Celtic.
On Wednesday night, a close friend of mine got in touch. “Why did I take Phil Foden out of my Fantasy Football team?” he lamented. Given he leads our mini-league by more than 100 points, sympathy was in short supply, but I did comment on his stupidity – and quickly transferred Foden into my squad. He has fast become one of the most important players in the English Premier League.
Foden is only 23 but, despite his tender age, he feels like a player who has been on the scene for quite some time. His first appearance in a Manchester City matchday squad was against Celtic way back in December 2016.
He had to wait almost 12 more months for his debut, coming on against Feyenoord in the Champions League. Since then, he has become a nearpermanent fixture in Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering squad, and is graduating from golden child to the main man in his team.
Foden scored a hat-trick on Wednesday night as Manchester City defeated Aston Villa 4-1 to keep up their quest to retain the Premier League title amid fierce opposition from both Arsenal and Liverpool. Guardiola had left his monstrous striker Erling Haaland and creative genius Kevin de Bruyne on the bench, trusting Foden to lead the line.
Primarily a wide forward or an attacking midfielder, he is now proving just as adept at being chief goalscorer. This was the second treble he has netted in 2024, and his attacking stats this campaign are the best of his career: 14 goals and seven assists in 30 EPL appearances. Add in continental competitions and his strike rate sits at 21.
Has he become more important to City than Haaland and De Bruyne, who have both missed chunks of this season due to injury? Their absence has allowed Foden to grow, to revel in the spotlight. As always, his manager Guardiola is pushing for more, aware of the special talent he has on his hands.
“What can I say? Three goals,” Guardiola said following the dominant victory over Villa. “He didn’t start well but I think the goal helped him a lot for the mood. When Phil plays in a central position he has a sense for goals and he proved it again.”
The Spaniard added: “He can do whatever he wants. He’s a real top-class player. We know it. But he is still open-minded, he has to understand the game, he has to focus on things, sometimes he’s a bit distracted in exactly what you have to do offensively, defensively, but he has a natural talent – a gift – which is special.
“The work ethic is unbelievable and he has an incredible sense of goal. When he has the ball and he’s attacking the back line he is going to score, you had that feeling. It is not easy to find it and that’s why he’s so special when he’s playing these central positions.”
In a title race of fine margins, Foden is now bracketed alongside Liverpool’s Mo Salah and Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka as potential league winners. And looking beyond the domestic campaign, England manager Gareth Southgate must find a way to harness this precocious player into his starting XI alongside the just as exciting Saka and Real Madrid wonderkid Jude Bellingham.