Phil Foden has admitted that he used to study how David Silva used to play even when they played together at Manchester City.
Since the Englishman has broken into City’s first-team, he has been compared to the Spaniard due to having a similar playing style to him.
It seemed like Phil Foden was always destined to emerge as the long-term successor to the retired maestro’s throne at the Etihad Stadium.
Phil Foden says he used to study David Silva when they played together
This season, the 23-year-old has often operated in a position that the World Cup winner used to, which is as a left-sided midfielder for Pep Guardiola’s men, contributing both in advanced and deeper areas of the pitch.
Phil Foden has now revealed that he used to study how David Silva used to play, even when he was in the senior team with him.
“Even when David [Silva] was here and I was training and playing alongside him, I studied what he was doing and watched what he did and how he did it”, he said as part of the February edition of the club’s official digital magazine.
“He was one of the best players I ever played with and he was also one of the best at unlocking low block defences. He could receive the ball in tight spaces and find the right passes at the right time and because I’ve moved more centrally lately, I’ve been allowed to do those sort of things – more so than when I’m out on the wing so, hopefully, I can keep having opportunities to play there and keep learning because I think there is so much I can still give in that role.”
Phil Foden should continue to study how the Spanish legend used to play
In our view, Phil Foden should continue to study how David Silva used to play by tuning into games he played for both club and country during his career.
One crucial reason why Foden should do so is because the former Valencia midfielder is the most stylistically similar player he will find to himself, who has also managed to play under Guardiola.
In addition, much like Foden, Silva too was tasked to play both in midfield and out wide for both City and Spain.
However, the four-time Premier League winner’s performances never really experienced a dip, regardless of wherever he was played on the pitch.
Phil Foden, who seems much more of a natural midfielder should analyse how David Silva managed to remain equally impactful from either flank in his spare time.
