Manchester City star Phil Foden has not had the best start to the 2024/25 season.
The academy graduate arrived back late after his exploits for England at Euro 2024, and then had a bout of illness.
The 24-year-old just hasn’t really been able to get up to speed so far, and is yet to open his account in the Premier League. That said, he does have three Champions League goals to his name.
Foden withdrew from the latest England squad due to picking up a knock against Brighton and just generally struggling with his fitness.
And Foden’s lack of involvement for the Three Lions appears to have really weakened his standing.
It was a great couple of games for Jude Bellingham, and former striker Darren Bent has now issued a worrying verdict for Foden regarding playing for his country.
Darren Bent explains why Man City star Phil Foden will struggle to start for England now
One big criticism fans have of Foden is that he has never really performed in an England shirt.
Undoubtedly at Euro 2024, he was disappointing on the whole, but some had sympathy for him and instead blamed the manager’s tactics.
England have just played games against Greece and the Republic of Ireland, and Lee Carsley deployed Jude Bellingham as the number 10.
The Real Madrid star shone and now, Bent reckons Foden has a really hard task to become a regular starter for the national team.
He explained on talkSPORT yesterday: “When people have this discussion about Jude Bellingham, for me it’s a non-discussion, about would he play, should he not.
“Because even when he’s not playing that well for England, he always seems to be the guy who comes up with the moments, a goal or an assist or a bit of quality.
“This comparison, get him out of there and get Foden in… absolutely not. I think Foden now is struggling to get back into the starting XI.
“If you’re picking two 10s behind a forward right now, you go Cole Palmer and Jude Bellingham. You don’t want to see Foden on the left because people have been moaning for so long. That’s not his best position.”
Bent has previously suggested Thomas Tuchel won’t have any issue dropping Foden if it’s going to be for the better of the team.
Foden will hope for Thomas Tuchel reprieve
It’s a real shame that Foden just hasn’t been effective for England so far in his career, because Manchester City fans obviously see him shine most weekends in sky blue.
He undoubtedly has huge competition now to be a starter in the form of Palmer and Bellingham, but there is reason for optimism for The Stockport Iniesta.
Lee Carsley has finished his interim role now and it will soon be time for new manager Thomas Tuchel to come in.
| Phil Foden for England |
| Caps – 43 |
| Goals – 4 |
| Assists – 8 |
Tuchel previously praised Foden during his time as Chelsea head coach, saying: “I can’t speak about Phil Foden as he’s not my player but you can see the ability and desire to decide the biggest games.”
“I have the impression he is a nice guy and has a clear character like Mason (Mount).”
We’ll see if Foden is a player Tuchel wants to build around, but certainly, it will be difficult for the new Three Lions boss to get all three of Palmer, Bellingham and Foden into the same side.
