Kevin De Bruyne is set to leave Manchester City this summer in a move that will have huge ramifications on the rest of the squad.
De Bruyne is arguably City’s greatest ever player, and he will leave huge shoes to fill when he goes.
Omar Marmoush has been tipped as a potential De Bruyne replacement as an in-house option, while City have also looked at Morgan Gibbs-White.
Phil Foden could replace De Bruyne too in that number 10 role, and speaking on The Final Word, Teddy Sheringham has made a prediction about what will happen with Foden.
The pundit reckons that De Bruyne’s departure will give Foden the chance to get forward more often and play alongside Erling Haaland, claiming that the England star may have more goalscoring opportunities once De Bruyne goes.
Teddy Sheringham makes Phil Foden prediction
Sheringham was discussing Foden and the exciting aspects of his game.
The pundit says that Foden is a top player who knows how to score goals, and he expects him to play in a more attacking manner once De Bruyne has left the club.
“This is Foden getting forward, playing in an area where it’s all happening. I love his awareness, he sees the game so nicely, he gets into the six yard box, he does that. He’s playing with top players here as well,” Sheringham said.
“I know he’s not a number 10, but Kevin De Bruyne won’t be there next season, is that an opportunity for Foden to flourish?” Sheringham was asked.
“It will give him more opportunity to get forward alongside Haaland, that’s what he likes to do, he likes to get forward. There will be other players in that area as well, there will be spaces for eights and 10s to get forward, Foden is more of a 10 for me or a wide player, but he can score goals, anyone who can score goals, get them in and around the box where the opportunities arise.”
Phil Foden’s stats with and without Kevin De Bruyne
Sheringham spoke about how Foden will play when De Bruyne isn’t at City, and, interestingly, we have seen this dynamic quite a lot.
Indeed, De Bruyne has had his fair share of injury issues over the years, so much so that Foden has played 130 games for City where he hasn’t shared the pitch with De Bruyne.
Interestingly, despite Sheringham’s theory, Foden’s goal output is much worse when De Bruyne isn’t in the team, although, he is slightly more creative.
| Phil Foden with Kevin De Bruyne | Phil Foden without Kevin De Bruyne | |
| 180 | Games | 130 |
| 63 | Goals | 34 |
| 31 | Assists | 29 |
| 0.35 | Goals per game | 0.26 |
| 0.17 | Assists per game | 0.22 |
Foden clearly scores more goals when he’s in the same team as De Bruyne, and he may well have to step up on that front next season when the Belgian has left.
Foden is a world class player on his day, but, unfortunately, he has had a poor season this time around, and he needs to improve next season.
Whether or not Foden can step up in the absence of De Bruyne remains to be seen.
