Pep Guardiola has claimed that Manchester City have a midfielder who just has a natural eye for goal.
In the past, Ilkay Gundogan was the midfielder who would best fit the aforementioned description.
When the German signed for City in 2016, that was not necessarily the case.
But considering how seamless it was for him to bag goals in the 2020/2021 season, perhaps scoring goals was the hidden talent in Gundogan’s game.
Nowadays, Rodri is beginning to find the back of the net much more often.
Against Aston Villa, the £220,000-a-week midfielder scored his seventh goal in the Premier League, which is staggering for a number six.
Especially considering the Spaniard does not take set-pieces for Manchester City.
Similarly, Kevin De Bruyne proved he can turn into a goalscorer when need be, doing so during the 2021/2022 season in which he bagged 15 league goals.
Pep Guardiola says one Manchester City midfielder has “goals in his veins”
Looking at it, City have had plenty of midfielders with a knack for putting the ball in the back of the net.
Perhaps the standout example is Yaya Toure.
Much like Kevin De Bruyne, the Ivorian was also capable of scoring any type of goal.
During the 2013/2014 season, Toure famously scored 20 league goals and did so in style, scoring plenty of screamers that are still looked back at fondly to this day.
However, some might question where City have a midfielder nowadays who can be considered a reliable goalscorer.
According to Pep Guardiola, that man is Phil Foden, who scored a wonderful hat-trick for Manchester City against Aston Villa in his side’s latest 4-1 win.
“Assists, goals and work ethic. When he plays in central positions, he has an incredible sense of goal. He has goals in his veins and you have to use it”, he said on TNT Sports.
As Phil scored his first direct free-kick in a Manchester City shirt against Aston Villa, Pep Guardiola questioned whether he will be tasked to take many more in the future.
“I think it was more of a mistake from the Aston Villa players because they opened the wall, if they would stay, it’s not a perfect free-kick, it wasn’t over the wall but it was important, scored the second goal before the half-time and was really important for us”, Guardiola replied.
As Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden put on a show for Pep Guardiola and Co. against Aston Villa, he also equalled Cristiano Ronaldo, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba’s hat-trick tallies in the Premier League (three).
A key reason why Phil Foden will be viewed as one of the best of his generation
Based on the evidence this season, it is hard to argue with Pep Guardiola as Phil Foden continued to add to his goal tally for Manchester City against Aston Villa.
When looking at some of the creative midfielders of his generation, where Foden has the edge over most of them is his eye for goal.
Even midfielders like Pedri, Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz, who are often likened to the 23-year-old perhaps lack this trait.
Phil Foden, however, could develop into a midfielder who guarantees over 20 goals in all competitions season after season.
Apart from the treble-winner and even Jude Bellingham, not many attacking midfielders in their early twenties possess this feature.
The more goals a player scores, the more headlines they generate and considering how well-rounded Foden’s game is anyway, he will be heralded even more due to his penchant for finding the back of the net, in our view.