Kevin Nolan has suggested that Manchester City have got rid of their next version of Phil Foden.
The midfielder has become a key figure for Pep Guardiola after he worked his way through the club’s youth ranks to make his senior debut in 2017.
Now though, one pundit has said that the Manchester club may have lost their next version of Foden based on what he’s been told by another player from City’s ranks.
Nolan says City may have lost their next Foden
Speaking in a recent episode of 5 Live Sport, Nolan and this to say about Cole Palmer, including what one of his former City teammates told him about the winger.
He said: “I was speaking to Kalvin [Phillips] about him and his mentality. He said like that he was the closest thing to Phil Foden in five-a-side, he said they were just unbelievable.
“He used to take everyone and score, and he has gone on and done that, and I think the biggest compliment that he has been given is that Pep said I have made a mistake probably letting him go.
“Fair play to the kid. He has trusted himself, he has backed himself, and he has gone there and he has made himself the main man there, so good luck to him but not in the next few weeks because we are battling for a European spot.”
Did Man City let their next Phil Foden slip through their grasp?
In a similar fashion to Foden, Palmer made a name for himself in City’s youth setup where he scored 42 goals and provided 19 assists in 64 appearances.
After then making 41 senior appearances for the Blues, the 21-year-old joined Chelsea during the previous summer transfer window in a deal worth an overall fee of £42.5m.
Since then, prior to today’s FA Cup semi-final clash between the two sides, Palmer has made 38 appearances for Mauricio Pochettino’s side, finding the back of the net 23 times and delivering 13 assists.
Having spent time together at City last season, it’s no surprise that Phillips thinks so highly of the 21-year-old and his ability.
In terms of him being similar to Foden, we feel that if this were the case or if Guardiola felt this way, he would have given Palmer more game time to prove himself so he didn’t end up looking to move away from the club.