When Manchester City were crowned champions last season, Phil Foden became the youngster player to have won the Premier League title at the age of 17. Pep Guardiola has time and again showered praise on the young midfielder, and he is widely perceived as England’s next big thing.
The 18-year-old started for City against Fulham and once again made a strong impact. He is such a joy to watch, and one can feel that he will go a long way in his career if he keeps getting better.
However, there are fears that he could be on his way out of the Etihad Stadium in the near future.
City are choc-a-bloc with rich attacking talents and as such Foden is struggling for regular games at the club. He is too good to play for the academy side, but it is hard for him to get regular games as well when the likes of David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Leroy Sane, and Bernardo Silva are all ahead of him in the pecking order.
He has seen Jadon Sancho – his former England Under17 World Cup winning teammate – join Borussia Dortmund and now has been picked for the England senior squad, and could feel that he must move elsewhere to get regular game as well.
The Daily Mail report that Dortmund are now hoping to sign Foden for a development fee of just £175,000 when his City contract ends in 2020.
While Dortmund are a massive European club, Leeds United must make a move for the exciting teenager. Pep Guardiola considers Marcelo Bielsa as one of his idol figures, and the Spaniard would be more than happy to send Foden to Leeds to further his development.
At Elland Road, Foden will not get regular games, but will learn the trade under a great manager like Bielsa. Furthermore, it will be a great learning experience for Foden if he can be a part of the side that are chasing for promotion.
City won’t be willing to lose a precious talent like him, rather they would be happy to sanction a long term loan deal like they did with Patrick Roberts when he joined Celtic. It is a move that could be equally tempting for Foden, and given Bielsa’s strong relationship with Guardiola, the deal could actually materialise.
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