Manchester City fans have been loving Phil Foden in a central role recently – and a truly amazing statistic has emerged following his last three Premier League appearances for the club.
Foden has been enjoying a fine campaign in 2023/24, having contributed nine goals and eight assists so far across all competitions.
The injury absence of Kevin De Bruyne for the first half of the season has allowed Foden to play in the middle regularly – and it’s a position he recently admitted he would like to stay in.
Foden definitely suits it, with his amazing ability to find space between the lines and get on the half-turn.
In recent weeks, it feels as though he’s taken his game to new levels – and an incredible statistic has now emerged…
Phil Foden is so many creating chances and barely wasting a pass right now
At the moment, it feels like Foden is at the heart of all of City’s good attacking play.
He’s in that number 10 role and is constantly finding space ready to turn and supply Julian Alvarez, who is operating up top in the absence of the injured Erling Haaland.
In the last three Premier League games against Sheffield United, Everton and Crystal Palace, Foden has been truly remarkable with his passing and vision.
According to WhoScored, after games against these three teams, Foden has actually made more ‘key’ passes (10) than he has misplaced regular passes (8).
This is incredible, and shows that Foden is not only finding his teammates with top accuracy, but he’s finding them in very dangerous positions too.
Foden form could give Pep Guardiola a headache
This is an absolutely amazing statistic and just shows how much Foden is thriving in this central role at the moment.
Foden is rarely giving the ball away, but it’s not like he is being safe with it – he’s making things happen. It’s as though he’s playing with the riskiness of De Bruyne and the accuracy of Rodri.
He really is enjoying himself right now and he is surely giving Pep Guardiola a headache, because De Bruyne and Erling Haaland are both coming back later this month.
De Bruyne normally plays in similar positions to where Foden is currently cropping up, and Haaland returning could mean Alvarez drops a bit deeper which may affect the Englishman.
It will be very interesting to see what the manager does, but Foden is making a solid case to remain a central attacking midfielder.
