The eight stages of Phil Foden’s rise at Man City: ‘A gift on another level’

It’s easy to forget that Man City sensation Phil Foden is still just 21, given what he’s already achieved in the game.

From scoring the winning goal as City beat Spurs 1-0 with his first Premier League goal back in April 2019, to helping England to the final of the Euros and becoming a regular starter in possibly the best footballing side in the world, he’s come a long way from the Stockport streets he used to kick the ball on.

“He is the most talented player I have ever seen,” Pep Guardiola said of the England international a couple of years ago.

“[at] that age, I’ve never seen a player with this potential. But you have to see it on the pitch and on the biggest stages.”

Now, a couple of years on, here are eight stages of Foden’s incredible career so far. It’s madness to think that things will surely only get better.

Those that followed City’s youth sides had whispered about a potentially elite-level talent for some time.

Steve Williams, who coached Foden when he was a child at Reddish Vulcans, gave him the highest of praise – and expected him to go to the very top, with a game suited to Guardiola’s style.

“I think he is the natural successor to David Silva, in a year or two,” Williams said, speaking to the MEN after Foden made his debut

“The only problem at first was his size, because he was tiny,”

“When he started, it was the time of Patrick Vieira, and players were real athletes – and you wondered if a lad who might grow to five ft ins would get an opportunity.

“But then Lionel Messi came along and maybe changed that mentality, and Phil is in that style – he would run past entire teams at that age.

“Parents from other teams would come and watch him play from adjacent pitches.”

Safe to say that nearly five years on,