“Foden is the most talented player I have seen during my coaching career. He has everything it takes to become one of the best in the world,” said Pep Guardiola in 2019, a coach who had the opportunity to work with Lionel Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Thierry Henry, Franck Ribéry… None of them tickled the imagination of one of the greatest coaches in the world like the then 19-year-old Phil Foden.However, although he has been regularly included in the basket of the most talented footballers of today ever since he appeared on the big stage, for a long time ‘the Stockport Iniesta’, as he was nicknamed by the sky blue Manchester fans, struggled to reach the very top. The titles were there, the numbers were there, but for years the prevailing impression was that the English midfielder did not give everything he could and that City could survive without him. Until this season.##EDITORS_CHOICE##In the last two months alone, Phil Foden’s goals brought victories over Brentford, Bournemouth, Manchester United and Aston Villa, and his latest game against the Birmingham club (4-1) at the Etihad is the best indicator of how important the 23-year-old Englishman is to the European champions. With eight rounds to go before the end of an ever more exciting race in the Premier League, in the moments when City are trailing behind Liverpool and Arsenal, Pep Guardiola dared to leave fully fit Erling Haaland and Kevin de Bruyne on the bench, and against the team that outplayed him in December this season. A team that Foden tamed with a hat trick on Wednesday night.”When they (Haaland and De Bruyne) are not around, he puts the team on his shoulders…”, said Thierry Henry after City’s victory over Copenhagen (3-1) in the first leg of the round of 16 of the Champions League where Foden recorded a goal and an assist each.##NAJAVA_MECA_8010956##Left wing, right wing, a game on the pitch followed by one on the bench. Too often in the previous years, Guardiola ‘moved’ Foden from position to position, thus not allowing him to grasp continuity, and the fact that he rarely found himself in the role that pleased him the most caused the difficulty in gaining constancy for Foden.”I see myself as a player with good technical ability, who does well in the ‘pockets’. I can do well on the wing also, but I prefer more of a central position,” said Foden after the win over Villa.The problem is that years ago that position was reserved for Kevin de Bruyne and it was not realistic to expect that Guardiola would just give up the services of one of today’s best playmakers. However, the Belgian, who almost couldn’t make it through the season without a single injury, struggled to stay healthy this season, at the age of 33. He missed the first part of the season due to a back injury, then a groin kept him off the field for another month, which is why it’s no surprise that the City leaders are not making concrete moves regarding the negotiations on the contract extension. That is why Foden’s brilliance and rise come at the best possible moment, as a natural sequence of circumstances in the change of generations.”What can I say when he scores three goals? I don’t think he started the game well, but the goals lifted his mood a lot. When he plays in the middle, he can sence the goal. Goals are in his veins and we have to use that. He can do whatever he wants to, I think he’s really a top-class player. We all know that. He has to stay focused, sometimes he’s a bit distracted. But he has a natural talent, a special gift. And on top of all that, an incredible feeling for the goal. It’s not easy to find a player like that. That’s why he’s special”, Guardiola praised him.Phil Foden became the 5th player in the top 5 European leagues to score 20 or more goals and make 10+ assists last night ✨It’s good news for Gareth Southgate as four out of the five players to achieve this are English 🏴 pic.twitter.com/sT5Yeza5c2— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) April 4, 2024 De Bruyne may not be willing to give up his place in the team just yet, but Foden is more than ready to replace him. After all, the numbers confirm the impression. This season in the Premier League, Phil was the only City player to play 30 games – more only last season (32) – of which he started only one from the bench. In all competitions, a total of 44 matches, 21 goals and 10 assists… In the five strongest European leagues, only four other footballers scored more than 20 goals and 10 assists… Needless to say, this is by far his most effective season since he hit the big stage…”The coach talked about rhythm and slowing the game down. I added that to my game. He said: ‘You will improve in that position’. Because before I would go too fast, attack in every action. Now I have established a balance. I have worked on all aspects of my game in the midfield. I still have a lot of room for improvement, but I enjoy this position,” emphasized Foden once again.Foden’s ‘best position’ was often debated by fans of Manchester City and England in general, because Gareth Southgate often sent him from one end of the field to the other since his debut in the senior national team, so Foden did not manage to reproduce the games from the club in the national team.And, after the City footballer’s statement about his ‘favorite position’ and the game he played against Villa, the English fans are urging the coach to do everything necessary to enable Foden to play at the same level at the EURO2024.”Where to put Foden to get the best out of him? This has been a debate for some time now… What we have seen lately – that is all we need to know. Send these clips to Gareth (Southgate). Declan Rice as a ‘six’, Bellingham and Foden to decide between themselves who goes where. All the top teams play with the advanced ‘8-10’ position. Arsenal do it, now Manchester City too. This kid is a player who finds solutions, the level of intelligence of such players is extremely high,” Rio Ferdinand advised Southgate.Pep did it. Now it’s Gareth’s turn…
