Wayne Rooney believes Manchester City star Phil Foden is currently better at something he was when he was around the same age.
Foden is about to get underway with England at Euro 2024, and the nation has high hopes for the Manchester City midfielder.
Foden just finished the best season of his career, which culminated in him winning the Premier League Player of the Season award. He also won the FWA award and City’s own equivalent.
There has been plenty of talk about Foden leading up to this tournament.
Many have been clamouring for him to play in the middle.
It remains to be seen if that will happen, but Wayne Rooney is sure the youngster is better at one thing than he was.
Wayne Rooney says Phil Foden is ‘more mature’ than him at a similar age
For many, Foden is like the modern-day Rooney.
He is a generational talent, and has the potential to go on and become one of the finest players England has ever produced, just as Rooney is.
The pair have been compared in the past, even though they play different positions.
Rooney was asked about Foden on The Overlap, as he picked his England team – and in his eyes, they are very different in one sense.
Rooney explained: “No. I think he is completely different to me.
“He is more mature than I was with the ball at that age.
“I was a bit more raw. I think for Foden this season has been a big step up for him.”
Certainly, Rooney was very passionate and at times aggressive in the way he played. He had technical ability, but was never one to not get stuck in, and calmness was never really what he was about.
Foden’s maturity is impressive
Foden is certainly very mature in the way he uses the ball and that has come about because of the environment he is in.
He is naturally gifted, but City have also laid the foundations perfectly for him to develop into the player we see today.
He has been surrounded by world-class players for years, and has been able to learn from them all and incorporate things into his own game. Foden’s hero is David Silva, and you would imagine he would have paid particularly close attention to the Spaniard when they played together.
Silva was always known for being calm, mature and making the game look easy. We know see that watching Foden.
It is remarkable to think he is as good as he is now, and scary to imagine the levels he could reach in a few years.