Over the years, Manchester City have had several young players at their disposal who have wowed the footballing world.
Cole Palmer, who came through City’s academy has gone on to become one of the most in-form attackers in Europe.
Robbie Earle described Rico Lewis as “the future” and praised his performances this season as “incredible.”
It was reported that Pep Guardiola personally wishes for James McAtee to sign a contract extension at the club as well.
Guardiola also claimed Oscar Bobb was “incredible” in pre-season after discussing his injury.
The list of excellent youngsters across different positions at Manchester City’s disposal seems virtually endless.
Solanke raves about Man City superstar
However, Phil Foden is perhaps the standout example when discussing the calibre of young players City are capable of bringing through.
The £225,000-a-week man, who became a first-team player at 17 won the 2023/2024 PFA Player of the Year award — emphasising the astounding talent he always possessed.
The Englishman has gone from initially being a fringe player at the Etihad Stadium to becoming one of their main players nowadays.
Players who have played with or against Foden also seem to sing his praises.
In April last year, Jordan Henderson named Foden as England’s most technically gifted player.
When quizzed about which young players over his career have impressed him the most by Sky Sports, Dominic Solanke instantly named Foden.
“Could say [Phil] Foden. Obviously, he’s a bit younger than me. I remember when he first came to England few years up and you could obviously see then.”
“You could see the talent, the control on the ball he had is so different.”
“I think last season, he put that all together and we saw what we did.”
Phil Foden was always a special talent
Any young player in this world-class Manchester City side is a special talent.
Foden, much like Lewis broke into the senior team as a 17-year-old — indicating that he was always mature beyond his years as a player.
Regardless of how the Stockport-born midfielder’s career would have panned out, the fact that Pep Guardiola handpicked him from the academy showcases how startling his talent was.
Considering Solanke himself was viewed as an incredible youngster during his time at Chelsea, his claim about Foden indicates that he was always an elite talent and he has managed to fulfil his potential so far.
