Seven years ago, when Phil Foden orchestrated England’s 5-2 comeback win over Spain to lead the Three Lions to the U-17 World Cup title in Kolkata, several miles away in the West Midlands, his club manager Pep Guardiola was apprised of his success. “What position did he play? When I find out, I will put him in that position,” said the Manchester City boss. Phil was all of 17 then, he had just completed a pre-season under Guardiola and had been around the first team set-up that year.
Guardiola would later say that at just 17, Foden was the ‘most talented player’ he had ever seen and who one day could have the world at his feet. There have been many examples in history, where translating the potential into fulfilling the talent isn’t often a linear path. But Foden, now a week shy of turning 24, is closer to realising his world-beating talent.
He is already a six-time Premier League champion, equalling David Beckham’s tally and going one ahead of Wayne Rooney and Sergio Aguero. He has a Champions League title, including a treble-winning season under his belt. And he is hungry for more. “I’ll never get tired of it,” he said after his fourth straight title win. A Ballon d’Or win will also not be beyond his capabilities if he keeps this up.
Of course, winning trophies under the genius of Guardiola and this Death Star-like City project might not seem for much but the 2023-24 league title-winning campaign will be the one where Foden can stake claim to be his star-making moment. The type of impact Erling Haaland, Kevin de Bruyne and Ruben Dias have had in previous seasons for City. And this title win would win that much more for Foden, born just six miles from the Etihad Stadium, and who has been with the club since 2009.
Phile Foden minutes played across seasons.
And it’s a significant win for both Foden and Guardiola with the careful nurturing of his playing time in a squad assembled with over a billion pound-worth of ready-made stars. Foden’s minutes were carefully spread out throughout his seven seasons in the first team while playing in several attacking midfield positions. Until the 2021-22 season, Foden hadn’t crossed the 2000-minute mark. For context, city rival United’s 19-year-old winger Alejandro Garnacho completed 2573 minutes in his second full season in the top flight.
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Guardiola, now, calls him the best player in the league and the sentiment was echoed by Foden’s peers when he was voted the PFA ‘Player of the Season’ on Saturday to add to his ‘Young Player of the Season’ honour from 2022. In this season, he was possibly among the most important players for City alongside Rodri, with both midfielders having played the most number of minutes among its outfielders.
“It is the amount of games he is playing. He was always a talented player but now he is more mature and understands more the game, especially defensively,” Guardiola told the BBC in March. “He can play middle, right, make moments and cut inside, play in the left, scoring from the left. What can I say? He is the best player in the Premier League right now for the amount of things he does. Unbelievable.”
And this season, as Guardiola had earmarked, all those years ago, put Foden in the heart of City’s attacking midfield. When Ilkay Gundogan left last summer, Guardiola didn’t go searching after another 50 million midfielder, he turned to the City academy starlet, who was now ready to take the step up.
And Foden has stepped up in a big way.
Foden recorded his career-best goals (19) and assists (8) tally in 35 matches. He also scored 27 goals in all competitions. He is now finding himself in goal-scoring positions to either sweep up cut-backs on goal or even make runs in behind the defence, with his 204 touches in the opposition box, 65 more than last season, an indication of it. He finished the season with 105 shots, 59 more than the previous season and his 48 shots on target is the third-best behind Haaland and Mohamed Salah. He also improved on his defensive contributions to the team by making 31 tackles, 15 more than from 2022-23.
His goals alone in the second half of the season have earned City 15 points, including the two goals on the final match day against West Ham United with the title on the line. Foden needed all of 78 seconds when his stunning hit from outside the box bulged into the net, providing the lift-off at the Etihad and following it up with another goal to put the title race beyond doubt and Arsenal. His opening goal was his sixth goal from outside the box, three more than any other player this campaign.
With the Premier League wrapped up, Foden will now turn his attention to the FA Cup final next weekend, seeking to inflict more misery on neighbours United. And then he will set his sights on the European Championships in Germany, where he will want to show the rest of Europe, why his star is on the rise.
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