Lionel Messi – Barcelona; Mario Götze – Bayern Munich; David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne – Manchester City. After Jude Bellingham ignored Pep Guardiola’s calls to be the next fantasy player and opted for Real Madrid, could Phil Foden eventually take over the role as the manager looks to build another great team?
At 12.30pm on Saturday, the 23-year-old takes part in the final round of qualifying, where the treble winners will host Liverpool in what has been a blockbuster Premier League encounter so far.
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If selected, this would be a clue to Foden’s status under Guardiola. This means he has won five Premier League titles, two FA Cups, four League Cups, the Champions League and the UEFA Super Cup since making his debut as a 17-year-old as a 75th-minute substitute against Feyenoord six years ago, but still manages to convince himself. a football player. As manager, he could succeed De Bruyne as the next dazzling star in Guardiola’s constellation, which includes Messi (Barça, 2008-12), Götze (Bayern, 2013-16) and Silva (City, 2016-20).
Of course, De Bruyne is not done yet, but the hamstring injury he suffered in the opening minutes of the season at Burnley in August, which required surgery and ruled him out until the new year, reminded Guardiola how good the 32-year-old Belgian is in. He is entering the autumn of his career.
Guardiola’s construction of his star teams around Messi, Götze, Silva and De Bruyne means the manager’s belief in rotation to encourage competition and hunger has been ignored; These key players rarely drop into big games when they are at the top of their form. In return, he demands that the X-factor football player produce. Foden’s exclusion from last season’s victorious FA Cup and Champions League final XI suggests he has yet to convince Guardiola that he can be City’s consistent winner.
Silva enjoyed a brilliant decade at City, considered by many to be the club’s best player. Three years later De Bruyne’s series A-list displays allow for a similar claim. In January 2020, before Silva’s departure that summer, Guardiola said: “We have confidence in Phil. “If we didn’t believe in him we could go to the market to replace David, but we have Phil.”
Guardiola still has Foden, but last season was the first post-Silva season and one in which faith was shaken and the England international was relied upon with far less playing time. During the 2020-21 season, Foden played 3,373 minutes in all competitions, making 36 starts in 50 matches and scoring 16 goals (all career highs) and 10 assists. The following season the same statistics showed 3,184, 36, 45, 14, 11. Foden then dropped significantly to 2,260 minutes, starting 29 games with just eight assists, but scoring 15 goals in 48 appearances.
Injury and illness were factors; A foot injury in the 2–1 defeat against Manchester United in January and appendicitis in March cost him two months out. However, when he was fully fit again, he appeared as an unused substitute in the semi-final first leg in the 1-1 Champions League quarter-final second leg against Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in April, replacing De Bruyne in the 84th minute. City’s comeback against Madrid came with a score of 3-0.
This observer has witnessed many of Foden’s displays in City colours. It’s hard to remember him performing poorly. Instead, the image conveyed in the mind’s eye is of nimble feet, slippery touch and masterful vision, as well as his undulating, sharp runs, a whirlwind of which Foden has graced many competitions and has been significant in his fair share of competitions.
With De Bruyne’s flamboyance, this is no shame. And Foden is only 23 years old. Götze was 21 when Guardiola bought him from Borussia Dortmund. Dortmund’s then-manager Jürgen Klopp later called it a fait accompli, describing the attacking midfielder as “Pep Guardiola’s favourite”.
Foden has often operated as a wide man, which provides fewer opportunities to control play than De Bruyne, who plays at number 8 or (especially last year) 10, the principal conductor of City’s dazzling attack.
So, as De Bruyne’s power wanes, will Foden be able to seize his chance? Guardiola wants this from him. When De Bruyne was replaced in the 76th minute of the 2-1 Cup final victory against Manchester United in June, the coach turned to Foden. A week later, when De Bruyne limped off in the 36th minute of the 1-0 Champions League treble-clinching victory over Internazionale in Istanbul, Foden was replaced again.
It was a golden opportunity for Foden to prove he could thrive in the continent’s elite club competition after disappointing starts in City’s 1-0 defeat to Chelsea in the 2021 final. However, although he was competent at Atatürk Stadium, there was no demonstration of the game of his life. Those who argue that Inter are a difficult team to dominate are only suggesting what is required: the ability to seize a challenge in the highest stakes game and shape it to their side.
Foden still has time, but maybe not as much as his 23 years of life. Had Bellingham chosen City, Foden’s hopes of becoming “the man” under Guardiola would have been severely diminished, as evidenced by 20-year-old Bellingham’s 13 goals in 14 appearances for Madrid.
City Foden’s tally is 65 in 235 appearances, so an increase in his completion rate would help his case. He hopes to start doing so on Saturday, when Guardiola’s leaders welcome Klopp’s second-placed Liverpool.
First of all, there will be an anxious wait for his name to be read on the team sheet, but considering Guardiola has named Foden for 14 of City’s 18 games this term, his place in the starting 11 seems certain. From now on, the decision will be up to him, as his manager says for all his players.