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Featured Image Credit: Getty & The Overlap
Topics: Jamie Carragher, Manchester City, Pep Guardiola, Phil Foden
Josh Lawless
Topics: Jamie Carragher, Manchester City, Pep Guardiola, Phil Foden
Jamie Carragher's previous comments on Pep Guardiola's use of Phil Foden has not aged well.
At the start of the season the Liverpool legend questioned Foden's role despite him winning five Premier League titles, four League Cups, two FA Cups and one Champions League at City.
Carragher was left unsure about Foden's status for club and country, feeling as though he "can't quite get" in either side.
His remarks came after the Community Shield loss to Arsenal at Wembley, where Foden came off the bench.
Speaking on The Overlap, he said: “Phil Foden is not young anymore. Three or four years ago, we were saying he was going to be the best English player.
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“It almost feels like Jude Bellingham has become that player, where he's the one we build this England team around. Foden can't quite get in the England team and can't get in the Manchester City team.”
“Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez have left, and they're playing in the Community Shield a week before the season begins, and he still can't get in the starting XI.
“We all know how good he is – what is it that's stopping him? Pep played Alvaréz behind Haaland – that's a position where Foden could play, but he still doesn't play him.”
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Yet Carragher has been made to look a little foolish, with Foden easily City's top performer this season and in contention for the PFA Player of the Year award.
He has 24 goals and 10 assists in all competitions in what is easily his most productive campaign for City.
Foden has played off the right and on the left on occasion but has been given the freedom in his preferred central position, where he has proved adept at dictating the game and scoring goals aplenty from distance.
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Kevin De Bruyne, the man who he could well end up replacing in that role, believes he is more than equipped for the position.
"He'll end up central," De Bruyne told Sky Sports after Foden scored in the 4-0 win over Brighton.
"I saw him from the beginning, it takes a while to get used to a Pep team.
"Now he's trusted central, and Phil does what he does for seven years already. He's been doing this for years, helped us win titles."