Man City and Pep Guardiola cannot control the next step Phil Foden takes

It is no secret how highly Pep Guardiola rates Phil Foden.

The Manchester City manager took what was at that point the unusual step of keeping the Stockport-born youngster at City when he was a teenager, to keep a close eye on how he was progressing. His lack of game time in the 2018/19 campaign saw pundits foam at the mouth as they called for him to go out and gain regular minutes in a first team environment.

Guardiola would not budge and his decision has paid off. Foden has become as close as you can be to being a regular at the Etihad Stadium.

ALSO READ: Two City players struggle for England

His path to this level has not come without criticism, though. The 22-year-old was slated earlier in the campaign for failing to play the final pass to Erling Haaland — though that has been rectified now and both men have been flourishing since.

Foden's next step on the journey to his full potential will for the first time take place outside of the comforts of City. An unprecedented winter World Cup is on the horizon and the tournament will provide the midfielder with a new test.

In any Guardiola side there is a need for you to be creating chances on a regular basis, especially if you are in the Foden role. However, this burden of responsibility is equally shared out among several members of the first team squad.

Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish, Riyad Mahrez and Bernardo Silva can all be called upon to provide that spark for the Blues when needed. What became painfully clear on Friday night in Milan is that England do not have that luxury.

The Three Lions lack the creative depth that City possess and, as such, Foden will be looked to by Gareth Southgate to create the chances for the likes of Harry Kane. How he deals with this