Pep Guardiola has hinted that teenage sensation Phil Foden may play a prominent role in the final months of the season.
With Manchester City 16 points clear atop the Premier League table and virtually through to the last eight of the UEFA Champions League after their 4-0 first leg win against Basel, Guardiola could rotate his squad in the final months of the season.
Speaking to the media ahead of City’s UCL last 16 second leg versus Basel at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday, Guardiola was asked about Foden featuring.
“We are delighted to have Phil Foden with us but he is still 17 years old and he’s a young guy,” Guardiola said. “Of course we are so happy with him and we have a lot of confidence with him, but maybe he will play tomorrow. We will decide on the line-up tomorrow.”
Foden is the future of English soccer. There’s no doubt about it.
He was the star of the U-17 World Cup and “The Stockport Iniesta” has been nurtured at City’s academy and has been ready for some time to make waves in the first team. He has already made 12 appearances this season in all competitions and after an injury set back which kept him out for a few months, Foden is now back in the first team and a regular contributor off the bench.
It would be smart of Guardiola to rest Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva and Leroy Sane for Wednesday’s game against Basel and even for their clash against Stoke City next Monday. City need just four more wins to secure the Premier League title and Guardiola’s main aim will now be to make sure his star players are as fresh as possible for the latter stages of the UEFA Champions League.
Foden, Brahim Diaz and Oleksandr Zinchenko will all get plenty of minutes between now and the end of May and the three youngsters have already shown that can slot into this extraordinary City team seamlessly.
