Supercharged Foden
Young star set to sparkle on big stage in a stellar season
IT IS less than four years since Phil Foden was awarded the Golden Ball as player of the tournament when England won the Under-17 World Cup in India.
That clearly signalled a player of great promise, although plenty of those have fallen by the wayside. Foden, though, has skyrocketed.
Only just turned 21 at the end of May, he has already made more than 120 appearances for Manchester City, scoring at a rate of a goal every four games from a variety of positions in midfield and attack.
That Under-17 World Cup performance earned him the BBC’s young sports personality of the year award, and he has racked up the medals on the field: three Premier Leagues, four League Cups and an FA Cup already.
City boss Pep Guardiola has never been in any doubt about Foden’s talent, nor shy to shout about it:
After his debut on City’s pre-season tour in 2017 he said: “It’s a long time since I saw something like this. His performance was another level. He’s 17 years old, he’s a City player, he grew up in the academy, he loves the club, he’s a City fan – for us he’s a gift.”
When Foden was still only 19, Guardiola admitted: “He has everything to become one of the best players. Phil is the most, most, most talented player I have ever seen.” ( This from a coach who spent years working with a certain Lionel Messi.)
As Foden has matured this season: “He is growing, this guy is growing. He’s making steps forward every time. His influence on our game is massive right now. He’s so aggressive without the ball. He’s becoming a serious player.
“There are guys who at 19, 20 are unstoppable. Then others who are 29, 30 who are not. Phil, right now, is becoming such an important player. His influence in the final third is so important.”
Newly-elected Footballer of the Year Ruben Dias is also in no doubt of his team-mate’s qualities – and the difficulties he poses in training. He said: “He is a special talent. He is always driven and you never see him going down like ‘This isn’t going well for me’ or ‘I have this problem or that’.
“He knows very well what he is going for and when you have a player with this quality and with this mindset, it is very difficult not to be successful.
“He knows, against me, he needs to go slow!”
The only hiccup so far for Foden has been a slight false start to his senior international career.
He made his debut in a Uefa
Nations League win in Iceland last September but, along with
Manchester United’s Mason Greenwood, was promptly banished from the squad after breaking Covid-19 protocols at the team hotel.
Foden spent the next four England games on the naughty step, but has now amassed six caps. With neat irony, his first two international goals came in the return Nations League game against Iceland at Wembley in November.
There is going to be plenty of competition for places in England’s midfield in the coming years, with boss Gareth Southgate having at his disposal the likes of Foden, Mason Mount, Jack Grealish, Jadon Sancho, Jude Bellingham, Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips.
Grealish and Phillips are 25, but the others are all between 17 and 22. One hesitates to use the expression ‘golden generation’, given the international under-achievement of the BeckhamScholes-Gerrard-Lampard-Cole era, but it is an enticing prospect nonetheless.
And there is every chance Foden will be the cream of the crop. Just ask Guardiola.