Phil Foden
The England and Manchester City wonderkid sits down to discuss his exciting rise over the last year and his future Three Lions aspirations…
Many of your team-mates, including Kyle Walker, have said you are the best young player they’ve ever seen. What is it like to hear compliments like that?
It puts a smile on my face – as you can see! I’m just happy that he’s said that really. He’s worked with some great players, so for him to say that is a big statement. I know I still have a lot to work on and improve so for him to say makes me happy, but I still know what I need to do to get better.
Pep Guardiola has been rotating you since you broke through, whilst praising your development and performances. What has he said to you about your progress?
He doesn’t really speak about things like that to me, he speaks to the coaching staff. He just wants to see a good attitude every day and wants to see that you are training well. I go to training every day and give 100 per cent and that’s where you can’t go wrong really. If I don’t get in the team, I know I’ve put 100 per cent in and I know that if I have got in the team I know that I’ve earned it.
How much confidence have you taken from the belief that Pep has shown in you this season?
I’ve played in some massive games this year, like cup finals and big Champions League games, and they are the games that everyone wants to play in. Sometimes it’s difficult for a young player to play in those games, but I think he’s been patient with me and played me at the right times. Now I’m learning a lot and feel ready to go and play whenever.
Can you summarise the battles you’ve had to go through to get to this point? When I was younger, in the academy, I was a lot smaller than the other players, so I had to use my brain more to compete. Eventually I started growing and when I made the step up to the first team it was such a big step up from the youth team. I’ve definitely had to adapt quickly.
And now? How have you worked to ensure that you are able to compete with the senior players?
I’ve tried to get in the gym much more now and tried to get much bigger and stronger. I would probably say the biggest challenge was going into the first team and trying to adapt to the physical side. That was the most challenging thing for me.
You’ve played in several positions. Which is your favourite?
My favourite position is in the centre of midfield – that’s where I see myself as a player. But I’ve enjoyed playing off the left and off the right and sometimes as a false nine and scoring goals as well. I feel like I’m a flexible player, so I’ve been enjoying no matter where I play, and knowing that I can do a job there.
Is there a player that you watched a lot and partly modelled your game on? That was probably David Silva. I liked him ever since he first came to the club. I got to watch him live in training, which isn’t bad, so that’s probably the player I looked up to the most and tried to learn from. I’m just sad that he’s gone now, but hopefully he will be back as a coach or something else one day.
What did you learn from David Silva playing with him every day?
Just what he sees. He sees the game so differently to other players and how he moves into space in tight areas, how he receives the ball and never loses it. All of these things – I’ve been able to learn so much from him.
When he left, did you see that as an opportunity for you? Has that inspired your development this season?
Yeah, I suppose so, but there are a lot of midfielders at the club still and there’s a lot of quality in the team, so David leaving wasn’t just going to give me that position. At Man. City everyone needs to train well and play well to play. It depends on me – if I’m playing well enough I will get the shirt. It’s down to me.
The more you play, the more your opponents will learn about you.
How do you deal with that?
I’m obviously still quite young, but if I feel like a player is reading me I’m going to try to adapt and change my game. I feel like I’m really good at that – at adapting my game style. Like I said before I can play many positions, so that helps. It’s not something I fear and I look forward to the challenge if that’s going to happen to me.
Specifically which parts of your game are you really working on to improve? All of the game, to be honest. Probably defending off the ball, learning new positions – I’ve played a lot of new positions this year, so I just need to play more positions and learn them. I feel like I need to improve the whole of my game.
Burnout is a concern this season with the intensity of the schedule. How are you feeling in terms of freshness?
Maybe that’s a concern for some teams that don’t have a lot of players to change in and out, but at Manchester City we have a lot of players that the manager can change, so I feel like everyone should be okay. We also have a lot of backroom staff who work hard on things like that – who judge minutes played and watch how people are performing, so
I think we should be okay.
Let’s talk England. There were calls for you to be called up for months before you eventually did…
I’m only 21 years old. A lot of people had been pushing for me to be playing for the senior team much earlier, but I hadn’t played a lot of games at Manchester City. Recently I’ve been playing a lot more and doing well though. I’ve had to work really hard for the opportunity, but now I’ve got it I’m just trying to give it the best I can, and just enjoy it.
As a youngster, did you always dream of becoming an England star?
When I was young, every kid on the estate used
to dream of playing for England. We all pretended that we were players and that was something I used to do. Now I’m in the senior team it seems crazy! It’s still not really sunk in. But now I’m here as an England player I’m going to enjoy it.
You’ve been billed as someone different – a unique English midfielder. How do you deal with that kind of pressure?
I try not to read too much into it, you know. I’m just trying to keep doing what I do and trying to play my football. If people like that they like it, if they don’t they don’t. I just try to come into the team and do what I do at the club and play my football.
You’ve been likened to players like Paul Gascoigne. Do you have an idea of what he was like, or is that way too far back? Sometimes I watch old players. Paul Gascoigne was obviously one of the best England players to have ever played the game. I feel if those players had the right coaches around them at the time, and if they played the right football, they would have won more trophies. But I feel like we are going in the right direction now in terms of playing the right football and playing the right way.
There are several exciting young players around at the moment with the likes of yourself, Jadon Sancho, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland. Which young player has impressed you the most?
I watched Jadon when he went to Dortmund. To do what he did at such a young age was impressive. There’s not many players who could have played at that high a level and performed so well, so yeah I definitely looked at what he was doing and was very impressed.
“My favourite position is in the centre of midfield – that’s where I see myself as a player. But I feel like I’m a flexible player”
And how do you feel about the strength of this young group that’s breaking through for England? There are a lot of young players now playing at a high level and it seems like every year younger players are playing more big games. It just shows that the academies have got great coaches who are teaching them the right things and helping them to go on to play in the first team.
How do you feel about the competition in and around the England team with Grealish, Mount, Maddison, Rashford, Saka, Sancho all fighting for places? Everyone wants this shirt in this England team. There are a lot of good players who haven’t been picked, but maybe they will be picked next time. It just shows that everyone is fighting for a place and it’s healthy competition. That can only make England better. Everyone is fighting for the place and I think that can only be a good thing for England.
You’re already at a club that’s challenging for and winning a lot of big trophies. What do you believe is possible with England? Can you help them break their duck?
I want to try to keep this shirt and play for England for many years. I feel like, as a team, we can go much further than what we have done in the past. I feel really confident with the way we are going and with the players we’ve got. The big thing is we need to start winning tournaments and I’m hoping in the future we can start doing that.
Do any of England’s past failures weigh you down or act as pressure?
No, we are a young team and nothing fazes us. We just go out and play our football, and I think that’s a good thing because we don’t think too much. We can also start controlling games now because we’ve got the players for that. I’m just really confident for the future and it’s going to be good to see what England can do.
You’ve spoken about winning something with England – is that easier for you to visualise because you won the Under-17 World Cup in 2017? What memories do you have of that tournament?
If you win youth tournaments it can give you the experience to go on and win one with the first team. I feel like the World Cup definitely helped me to play on a big stage and not feel the pressure as much. I’ve played in many big games at Man. City now and I’ve learned to cope with the fans and the pressure. I feel like it definitely helps you. It’s definitely easier to visualise winning with the senior team because I’ve won something at youth level.
Where do you keep your Under-17 World Cup winners’ medal?
It’s in my trophy cabinet at my parents’ house and I go there a lot. Sometimes I walk past and just look at all of the trophies I’ve won and medals and just look through them. It’s nice to go back and see what I’ve won sometimes. The World Cup medal is probably my most cherished medal.
Interview by Matt Read