Gareth Southgate has ignored Phil Foden's clear pleas to play in central midfield

Gareth Southgate has ignored Phil Foden’s plea to play in central midfield.

Southgate has faced calls to play Foden in midfield after England played out a tepid 1-1 draw with Ukraine, with 33-year-old Jordan Henderson playing 90 minutes.

However, Foden has been utilised in a wide role by Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, which has influenced Southgate to play the 23-year-old on the flank.

Indeed, the Three Lions boss said: "He doesn't [play centrally] for his club, so presumably there's a reason for that.

"You'd have to speak with Pep [Guardiola], the best coach in the world, who plays him from wide.

“He's always got the freedom to drift if we play him wide and that's important. It depends on the level of the game, really."

Foden however, has long insisted he wants to play as a No 10 behind striker Erling Haaland and stressed in an interview earlier this month that he "can definitely" handle the extra responsibility of a central role.

When asked about his favourite position by Sky Sports, Foden said: "I think the one I played in against Newcastle (midfield), that's my favourite one, that's where I feel comfortable.

"I felt alive in that game, I felt myself more and I could get on the ball and do things. That's always been me as a player and hopefully, I can keep playing there and show people what I can do. It [the position] is one I can handle.

"There's a lot of responsibility, it's not just about going forward. You have to know what you're doing defensively and know who is around you. But, it's one that I can definitely do and I'm looking forward if I can play there more often, what I can do in there.”

Foden added: "We're playing at one of the best teams in the world. You're not guaranteed to play every game, even if you've done well in the last game. We've seen that with the manager we've got, he likes to rotate and use the full squad.

"Every game he's got a different scenario and he picks different players for different games and you've got to respect his decision.

“I'm used to it but hopefully, I can keep playing a lot of football now because Kev [De Bruyne] is injured and I'm needed for the team. So I hope I can fulfil that position and try to do good things there."

Topics: Football, Phil Foden, Gareth Southgate, England, Manchester City

Chris Byfield

Sport journalist with experience writing on football, rugby, boxing and the Olympics. I'm also a Crystal Palace fan. Please don't hold this against me.