Christian Benteke has now heaped praise on Manchester City No.47 Phil Foden – admitting that he wishes the England international was Belgian.
The 33-year-old made the comments when speaking to ESPN.
So, what did Christian Benteke say about Manchester City academy graduate Phil Foden? Let’s take a look…
Benteke praises Foden
Well, the DC United No.20 was asked by ESPN which English player he wishes was Belgian.
In response, the Belgium international said: “Phil Foden. I think he has something different. He’s a left footed player, they are always special to watch. A very, very talented player.”
Benteke faced the City Football Academy graduate twice during his time in the Premier League.
The 33-year-old won one of these clashes and lost the other while at Crystal Palace.
Benteke certainly isn’t wrong about Foden.
The 23-year-old is a truly unique talent who offers something that we rarely see from any footballer across Europe.
Foden can hurt opponents when coming inside off the right flank or the left wing, while also causing havoc in a central role – in total, he has registered 19 goal involvements in 31 appearances this season, which is a fantastic return.
Manchester City must keep using Foden centrally
As aforesaid, Foden has shone in a number of roles for Manchester City.
However – in the absence of Kevin De Bruyne – Pep Guardiola has often used the England international centrally, where he has performed incredibly across recent weeks.
A remarkable statistic from WhoScored showed that Foden has actually registered more key passes (10) than he has misplaced passes (8) across his last three Premier League appearances in a central role.
That will surely give Guardiola a bit of a selection headache with De Bruyne now back to full fitness.
Nevertheless, the England international and the Belgium international are talented enough to interchange depending on how the opposition set up, as they have done across recent years.
