Manchester City 星／主役にする in the making Phil Foden has no スパイ／執行官, still goes fishing with his dad and has been 述べるd by Pep Guardiola as 'a gift'

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Even as a coach who 証言，証人／目撃するd the rise of Lionel Messi at Barcelona, Pep Guardiola was （判決などを）下すd momentarily speechless by Phil Foden’s debut for Manchester City.?

‘I would like to have the 権利 words to 述べる what I saw,’ Guardiola told us at Houston’s NRG Stadium in July after Foden had starred against Manchester 部隊d. ‘You are the lucky guys who saw the first game.

‘It’s a long time since I’ve seen something like this. He’s 17 years old, he’s a City player, he grew up in the 学院, he loves the club, he’s a City fan and, for us, he’s a gift.’

Manchester City youngster Phil Foden appears to be on a 急速な／放蕩な 跡をつける to footballing stardom

Foden was 指名するd as the player of the tournament at the Under 17 World Cup?

Guardiola knew of Foden’s prodigious talent even before he left Bayern Munich to take over at City. England 経営者／支配人 Gareth Southgate, too, has been 跡をつけるing Foden’s 進歩 since he was 14.

Now the whole world knows about the Stockport-born midfielder who 奮起させるd England U17s to victory over Spain in the World Cup final in Kolkata, 得点する／非難する／２０ing twice to clinch the player-of-the- tournament award.

For those who have followed Foden’s career from the start, it has come as no 広大な／多数の／重要な surprise.

Joe Makin, the 新規採用 co-ordinator for City’s burgeoning 青年 学院 and football 開発 officer at 赤みを帯びた Vulcans, first （機の）カム across him at the age of six. When he left 赤みを帯びた to 調印する for City nearly three years later, Makin 地位，任命するd a photo on the club website with the words: ‘Phil Foden ― remember the 指名する.’

He has followed Foden’s 進歩 closely ever since in his 役割 at City, and 公式文書，認めるd how he has developed into a two-footed player even though ‘the left is still the 魔法 one’.

The youngster played for City’s U18s at the age of 15 and a year later was 指名するd on the （法廷の）裁判 for the final 支持する／優勝者s League group tie against Celtic.

Foden has only been a professional for いっそう少なく than a year and 調印するd a 契約 in the summer

He was rewarded with a first professional 契約 価値（がある） around £4,000 a week in the summer before playing against 部隊d on 小旅行する in Houston.

That 人物／姿／数字 is 推定する／予想するd to rise above £10,000 a week when he turns 18 in May, and Foden’s 最近の 偉業／利用するs in India will only 増加する his value.

His ambitions are ありそうもない to stretch far beyond the Etihad, however.

‘When he used to play for Vulcans, the scouts always hovered after the game but there was never a danger Phil was going to 調印する for any club other than City,’ said Makin.

‘I see him like a Paul Scholes. He’s a Manc and that’s it. He 調印するs in each day, trains, toddles off home, 職業 done.

‘He’s the quietest in the group even though he’s the one training with the first team.

Pep Guardiola 述べるd Foden as 'a gift' and has been impressed with his atti tude

‘His younger brother trained at Vulcans a couple of years ago. Phil （機の）カム 負かす／撃墜する coaching the five- and six-year-olds in a plain tracksuit, not his City one. Some of the parents had no idea that he’s a 星／主役にする in the making, though I’m sure a lot of them will now.’

It’s understood that Foden doesn’t even have an スパイ／執行官, although there has been no 不足 of them trying to 調印する him up.

Friends speak of a reserved young man who still goes fishing with his father, also called Phil, who has 献身的な his life to supporting his son's football career.

Foden grew up with his dad, mum Claire and two younger brothers in the Edgeley area of Stockport, although the family have recently moved to the more 豊富な 郊外 of Bramhall, and 熟考する／考慮するd at St Bede’s College with the 残り／休憩（する） of City’s 学院 players.

He has come a long way from the raw six-year-old who first turned up for training with 赤みを帯びた Vulcans at the Peel Moat Centre in Stockport.

‘It was so （疑いを）晴らす from that first 開会／開廷／会期 that he was something exceptional,’ says Steve Williams, his first 経営者／支配人 at 赤みを帯びた U7s. ‘He was without 疑問 the best talent I’ve ever seen.

‘There were so many moments but two stand out. I remember him scoop-chipping the goalkeeper from six yards out. There were gasps on the touchline, people were so taken aback by it.

‘The other was a tournament in むちの跡s. We’d beaten everybody comfortably and in the final group game we played Phil at the 支援する so he wouldn’t 支配する so much.

‘He got the ball from our keeper, （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域 their entire team and 得点する／非難する／２０d!’

Foden is an exciting player and likes to take on defenders to create something out of nothing

It was 著名な that England’s 勝利 in India （機の）カム against Spain, so long seen as a model for the 開発 of young players.

Success at the U17 World Cup, 連合させるd with the U20s 存在 栄冠を与えるd world 支持する／優勝者s and the U19s winning the Euros in the summer, has raised hopes of a golden 世代 現れるing in English football.

The part played by St George’s Park, where these 星／主役にするs of the 未来 mix together in the same hotel and can draw inspiration from one another on 明言する／公表する-of-the-art pitches the same size as Wembley, cannot be overlooked.

Hopefully they will be given their chance in a 首相 League that has often been too quick to ignore homegrown talent in favour of foreign 星／主役にするs.

Consider this statistic, for instance: 83 per cent of players who featured in the ４半期/4分の1-決勝戦 of the 支持する／優勝者s League in the last 10 years have played first-team football at 17.

So could Foden be the figurehead for a golden 遺伝子 ration?

‘Yes, he could be that,’ said Makin. ‘He’s that type of person. He’s got the magnetism and 控訴，上告. He goes past people and that gets fans off their seats.

‘It’s not a coincidence that the England age-group teams are doing so 井戸／弁護士席 and a whole new 世代 is coming through. All the 学院s 全国的な are 耐えるing fruit ― and it’s going to get better.’