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Phil Foden Isn't One Of The 50 Most Experienced Players Born In 2000

Phil Foden Isn't One Of The 50 Most Experienced Players Born In 2000

The Manchester City midfielder is on the final 20 man shortlist for the Golden Boy award but he's not getting enough minutes on the pitch.

Ryan Sidle

Ryan Sidle

Phil Foden might be one of the most talented young players in world football but his lack of minutes for Manchester City means he's not one of the most 50 experienced players his age.

Pep Guardiola may have described Foden as the most talented player he's ever worked with but the 19-year-old midfielder is struggling to get much game time right now.

With just 10 minutes of Premier League football this season the 19-year-old isn't amongst CIES Observatory's list of the 50 most experienced players born in 2000. The list is based on minutes and level of football with former City academy player Jadon Sancho leading the way.

CIES's top 20 experienced players born in 2000. Image: CIES Observatory
CIES's top 20 experienced players born in 2000. Image: CIES Observatory

On top of the 10 minutes of league football this season Foden has also one appearance in the Carabao Cup and a substitute appearance in the Champions League, coming on in injury time against Dinamo Zagreb and getting on the scoresheet.

Despite that the City academy product has played less than 400 minutes domestically so far in his career, which puts him below his peers.

It shows how far behind those of a similar age Foden is and some will start questioning why he isn't getting more first team football, despite his manager talking him up.

In direct contrast Sancho decided to leave City in the summer of 2017, after believing that he wouldn't get enough first team football at the Etihad, and he's barely looked back since.

He moved to Dortmund for around £8 million and has gone on to make 53 appearances in the Bundesliga alone, also playing in domestic cups and in Europe.

Already this season the forward has three goals and five assists in the league whilst he's also made five appearances in England's Euro 2020 qualifiers, scoring twice and getting an assist.

Sancho's had a lot more first team action than the man who might have been his teammate. Image: PA Images
Sancho's had a lot more first team action than the man who might have been his teammate. Image: PA Images
20-40 in the most experienced list. Image: CIES Observatory.
20-40 in the most experienced list. Image: CIES Observatory.
The final 10. Image: CIES Observatory.
The final 10. Image: CIES Observatory.

Interestingly Ryan Sessegnon takes second place behind Sancho on the list. The former Fulham player played a lot of football two seasons ago with the Cottagers still in the Championship.

He was a driving force behind their promotion to the Premier League and then started another 35 games in the top tier, although he didn't reach the same heights he did the previous season.

In the summer Sessegnon moved to Spurs but injury has stopped him playing any games so far this season, it'll be interesting to see if he's in the Sancho or Foden camp once he gets fit.

Should Foden move to accelerate his development like Sancho?

Featured Image Credit:

Topics: Manchester City, Phil Foden, Football News, Vinicius Junior, Ryan Sessegnon, Premier League, England, Borussia Dortmund, Jadon Sancho, Real Madrid