Why is Phil Foden so Good at Football?

At club level, Phil Foden has proven throughout his career with Manchester City that he is one of the best attacking midfielders in the world. By the age of 24, Foden had already won the Champions League once, Premier League six times, FA Cup twice and the League Cup on four occasions. The standout being the 2022-23 season, where the Sky Blues managed to win a historic Treble with Foden one of the first names on the team sheet each week.

In 2023-24, Foden continued that remarkable form and was rewards with the Premier League Player of the Season Award as City won an unprecedented fourth straight league title. With that in mind, here are all the reasons that make the England international so good at what he does.

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Consistency and Workrate

Foden has put in the miles to get where he is

Having the ability to perform at a consistent level with an elite workrate is part and parcel of being managed by Pep Guardiola, and just looking at his stats across the 2023-24 domestic season for City shows just how sensational he is through the middle.

Foden’s stats as an attacking midfielder under Pep were particuarly impressive during the 23/24 season, with the player managing to gain an average rating of 8.2 in the role (via FootballCritic).

Standout performances from that season saw a player oozing with confidence in front of goal, knowing that he had the backing of his manager and teammates to pick the ball up on the half-turn and make darting runs towards the box to open up the opposition’s defense.

Ability on the ball

As a ball playing technician, Foden has the tight-control abilities of some of the greats of the game. When you see Foden with the ball at his feet, you notice that he will usually push the ball forward almost exclusively with his preferred left foot, taking multiple small touches to keep the ball close enough to react to oncoming defenders.

Another aspect of his incredible skill lies in his ability to drop the shoulder and break lines of midfield, especially when he is in tight positions, to then run at the defense to try and try to make something happen in front of goal.

Helping this great ability to turn and run is his acute awareness of the shape of play on the pitch, knowing exactly what he plans to do before he has even made the half turn. In terms of players with their back to goal, there isn’t anyone that you’re going to find that can dictate play better than Foden in the Premier League in the modern game.

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Versatile Across the Front Line

Englishman can play in a number of positions

When City have a fully fit side, it’s not unnatural to see Foden starting on the left or right with De Bruyne sitting in the number 10 role behind Erling Haaland. But, as Danny Murphy pointed out for the BBC back in March 2024, he is more than comfortable cutting inside and dictating the play when he starts out wide:

What makes Foden vital for Guardiola is also his ability to find the back of the net, even when he is starting at the left or right rather than down the middle supporting a lone striker.

A great example of this can be seen below, where Foden started on the right for City against Nottingham Forest. Foden would cap off a 46 pass move by the Sky Blues with a sensational strike from his left foot after getting the assist from Kyle Walker. You can see from the clip how Foden has the ability and vision to get into the perfect position for the shot, knowing that Walker would be bounding on the outside ready to cut in. With the foresight and ability to have this sort of game-reading nous at only 23 at the time, the sky is really the limit for a player who is still a couple of years away from his “prime.”

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Pep Guardiola’s High Praise

The Manchester City boss loves the Manchester-born player

Considering how much of an important role Foden has played for Guardiola’s City side it’s no surprise that the gaffer has nothing but praise for the elite-level footballer.

Speaking in May 2024, just after Foden won the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year award in a season that saw him net 24 times for City and make 10 assists, Pep said that his charge could end up being one of the greatest to ever play for the Cityzens. Via The Guardian, he said:

Even before that, Guardiola claimed at the end of the 2018/19 season that:

Given that Guardiola has coaches Lionel Messi during his career, that is sure to be some of the highest praise he could receive.

Remaining Humble

Foden remains true to himself

Despite the praise and his clear abilities on the pitch, Foden remains humble and when speaking back in March 2024, he claimed that he isn’t yet world class. He said, via GOAL:

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All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt. Correct 23.07.24