Danny Murphy has been speaking about Manchester City star Phil Foden – and has insisted there is one big reason why he is better than Tottenham Hotspur star James Maddison.
Foden made headlines on Monday, after he hit a superb hat-trick for City in the 3-1 win over Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Foden played in a central role once more, as he has been doing a lot recently, and linked up brilliantly with the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Julian Alvarez and Erling Haaland.
Fans and pundits alike have been singing the 23-year-old’s praises following his amazing display, and after the game with Brentford, there was a bit of talk about Foden’s role in the England team on Monday Night Football.
Today, there was some more chat about Foden at international level, with Danny Murphy explaining how he is better than Maddison…
Danny Murphy insists Manchester City star Phil Foden is better than James Maddison
England have a seriously talented pool of midfielders at the moment.
It is going to be very difficult for Gareth Southgate to choose his squad and starting XI when Euro 2024 rolls around in the summer.
£225,000-a-week star Foden will no doubt be on the plane, as will Maddison should he steer clear of any more injuries.
Today on talkSPORT, Foden and Maddison were being discussed regarding England and in the eyes of Murphy, the City man is the better player, with the difference being that he is better defensively.
After Simon Jordan had called Maddison ‘a special player’, Murphy said: “He’s (Maddison) older, and he can do similar things in terms of opening teams up and scoring goals. But the difference between Foden and Maddison for me is that Foden is much more disciplined and better defensively.”
Foden’s defensive work is underrated
It is sometimes lost on people how good Foden is defensively.
The 23-year-old is relentless when it comes to his pressing and defending from the front. He and the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva are all fantastic at squeezing up and just suffocating the opposition.
Murphy is probably right with his assessment of the two players.
Maddison is a fantastic talent, and has a huge amount of technical ability, and Spurs do have a top player on their hands with him.
But he probably isn’t quite on Foden’s level because of the City man’s energy and defensive discipline.
