Phil Foden made headlines once again for Manchester City on Sunday – and pundit Craig Burley is adamant about what his best attribute is.
Foden scored twice in the 3-1 win over West Ham United to help City seal a fourth straight Premier League title. He scored both his goals in the first-half, before Mohammed Kudus pulled one back. Rodri then got City’s third in the second-half to kill the game.
Foden had been named the Premier League Player of the Season ahead of the game, and proceeded to turn in a performance that showed why he was the very best performer in 2023/24.
The 23-year-old was outstanding playing in a central role, and it was yet more evidence that this is where is going to be operating long-term, which is something Kevin De Bruyne feels will be the case.
We know he can play in wide positions. But Foden seems to take his game to a new level when he moves inside – and it’s a position he has admitted several times is his favourite.
Foden is amazing at a lot of things these days, but Craig Burley is adamant about what his ‘best attribute’ is…
Craig Burley hails Phil Foden’s awareness of his Manchester City teammates
When Foden plays in the middle, he has much more freedom. He loves nothing more than to get between the lines and find space.
He then gets the ball on the half-turn and progresses. Undoubtedly, he has now become one of the world’s best at this.
Foden excels in the middle because he is always scanning and in the eyes of Burnley, his awareness of his teammates around him is his very best trait. He said in a video for ESPN FC: “The clips are always him spanking the ball in the top corner and this is a great skill set to have amongst all the skillsets he has.
“I think his best attribute is his awareness of where people are. That doesn’t necessarily mean his teammates, but his opponents too.
“Whenever you see Foden with passes coming into him, he has this lovely ability to let it just roll across him. Sometimes he gets walloped, but not often. But his awareness, this ability he has to understand where the space is and how tight an opponent is and where to drop the shoulder and how to let the ball run across him, that’s what he does great.”
“I think he does that as well as anybody. His awareness to go along with the technical side of it is really something. I’ve noticed it from a young age.”
Foden the best between the lines
It is difficult to make a case for anyone else being better than Phil Foden between the lines.
The star is just a master of finding space between an opposition midfield and defence, and often he will already know his next move before he has even received the ball.
You constantly see him scanning, and that is why he is able to thrive. He is fully aware of what’s going on around him, and then he has the technical ability to do whatever he wants.
Burley may well be right to suggest it is his best attribute.
He has plenty at this point, but being aware of people – both teammates and opponents – makes life so much easier for a footballer on the pitch.
