Manchester City have more players in action at the 2024 European Championship than any other side in the Premier League.
Specifically, 14 figures from Pep Guardiola’s squad have been selected to represent their countries in the tournament currently taking place in Germany.
With the Citizens having won a fourth Premier League trophy in a row at the end of last season, it comes as no surprise to us that so many City players were picked to play in this latest international competition.
Now though, in the midst of the group stage, one former City manager and international coach has made an interesting claim about one specific City star and what he can do on the international stage in the future.
Stuart Pearce thinks Phil Foden still has room to improve
Speaking on talkSPORT (08:46) prior to England’s match against Denmark, Pearce had this to say on the subject of Phil Foden and what the future could hold for him in terms of his international performances.
“His club form has been unbelievable, he’s scoring goals for his team as well, he’s been magnificent. We just want him to replicate that for England.
“He’s still young, he’ll earn a hell of a lot of caps in his time, there’s no doubt about that and become a better player.
“I still don’t think he’s the finished article if I’m being honest with you. I think he’ll get better and better as time goes by.
“He’s one of these where I think you’ve got to nurture him. I think Pep did that in his early years, he didn’t put him in too soon, he nurtured him and I think we’ve got to do the same with England. Albeit the stakes are higher with England, they’re under that much more spotlight.
“He’ll come good for the country there’s no doubt about that in my mind about it.”
An improved Foden is a scary prospect
Having made 270 senior appearances for City, where he’s scored 87 goals, delivered 53 assists and won numerous trophies including six Premier League titles, the 24-year-old has racked up 35 senior caps for England prior to the Denmark game.
In his latest Premier League campaign, Foden found the back of the net 19 times and supplied nine assists in 35 matches, which ultimately led to him being named the Player of the Season.
However, having been deployed as a left-winger in England’s opening game of the Euros against Serbia, the City star failed to have much of an impact, making just one key pass in the match and failing to register one attempt at goal in the 90 minutes.
After that game, Alan Shearer shared his frustrations at having the six-time Premier League winner being played on the left.
While Pearce has a lot of experience and knowledge when it comes to coaching players, we feel that Foden certainly has what it takes to improve, as he has done at City over the years, although it doesn’t help when he’s being forced to play in a position that he doesn’t feature in regularly at club level.
Moving forward, if the Englishman is able to become as suited to playing for his country as he clearly is for City and improve his overall game, this would definitely be a scary prospect for opposition players to have to deal with.