Dazzling Foden puts pressure on Gareth Southgate to find England role
The precociously talented 23-year-old has hoovered up 14 major trophies at club level and has become an ever more central figure in City's success under Guardiola. Foden has scored 18 goals and provided 10 assists in 41 appearances for his club this season but has yet to make the same impact for England.
"He is the best player in the Premier League right now for the amount of things he does," said City boss Guardiola. "He always scored goals but now scores goals that win games and when you do this, you reach another level as a player."
Foden has been part of Southgate's squad for the past two major tournaments as England reached the final of Euro 2020 and fell to France at the quarter-final stage of the 2022 World Cup. But he has proved to be a victim of his own versatility and has found himself competing for a place in an extraordinary generation of English talent.
Foden has thrived this season in a more central role in City's midfield, enabled in large part by Kevin De Bruyne's long absence through injury. "I'm really glad with my performances and am playing a lot of minutes inside, where I want to be, and I'm delighted with the way I'm playing," Foden said after scoring a hat-trick against Brentford last month.
"I'm playing the best form I've had in a City shirt consistently for a long time." However, that role in the England team has been handed to Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham, who has become one of the world's best players at the age of just 20.
Foden has also excelled at times cutting in from the right wing, boasting a weapon of a left foot that has earned him the nickname "sniper" from his City teammates. Yet there too he faces competition, this time from Arsenal's Bukayo Saka, who was arguably England's best player
Read on besoccer.com
