Phil Foden has agreed to a new three-year contract deal with Manchester City, keeping him with the club until the summer of 2027. The 22-year-old, regarded as one of the best young players in the game, has progressed through City’s youth system to become one of Pep Guardiola’s most valued men. At club level, he has already won 11 trophies, namely four Premier League crowns, an FA Cup, four League Cups, and two Community Shields. In addition, he has 18 full international appearances for England. Foden’s significance and effect over the previous two seasons led to his being named PFA Young Player of the Year and Premier League Young Player of the Season two years in a row.
The supports chants, “Phil Foden, He’s One of Our Own.” It was immediately apparent that Foden and City were a perfect fit for one another, and this feeling has only increased over time.
Phil Foden has accomplished this and a great deal more. From ball boy at the Etihad to pivot of City’s dynamic set, his trajectory has been right out of a Hollywood screenplay. Furthermore, Foden had to battle his way into a group that was brimming with world-class talent from top to bottom.
Phil, who was born and raised in Stockport, has been considered a great prospect ever since he enrolled in the academy as a young lad, thanks to his exceptional talent and determined mentality. When Pep Guardiola was hired as City manager in the summer of 2016, Txiki Begiristain, the club’s director of football, wasted no time in letting the new manager know about the exceptional potential being developed at the academy. That skill was on exhibit to shocking effect during their summer trip to the United States in 2017, when Foden put on a brilliant performance against Manchester United. Although Man City lost 2-0 in Houston, the true winner was Foden, whose remarkable performance showed what a special prospect he is. Pep, who is not new to appreciating excellence, had a remarkable response to it.
Foden’s effect was quickly felt at club level after erupting as England’s brightest light at the 2017 Under-17 World Cup, aiding the Junior Lions to claim the title. He debuted for City in the 2-1 win against Feyenoord in November of 2017, coming on as a replacement for Yaya Toure. Two weeks later, against Shakhtar Donetsk, Phil made his debut Champions League start, becoming the youngest English player to do so at 17 years and 192 days old.
He scored his first professional goal in a 3-0 Carabao Cup victory over Oxford away from home in September 2018, and his inaugural goal at the Etihad came in a 7-0 FA Cup victory over Rotherham at home in January 2019. During City’s 7-0 second-leg triumph against Schalke in the round of 16, Foden scored his first goal in Europe to make the news as the youngest player to strike for City in the Champions League as well as the youngest English player to net a goal in a knockout round of the tournament.
Furthermore, in April of 2019, he scored his first Premier League goal in a 1-0 victory against Tottenham that proved to be a turning point as City finished the season with a crushing victory of each and every major domestic English title. During the 2018–19 campaign, Foden established himself as a key player, and he expanded his role even more in the 2019–20 campaign.
Now, fast forward five years from his club debut, the 22-year-old is now in the midst of a stellar Manchester City team battling for the 2022/2023 title. He has already racked up 821 minutes of football throughout 13 appearances, scoring six goals and assisting three times in the process. City are currently in second place – two points under league-leaders Arsenal and five points above Newcastle with a game in hand. Having the celestial Erling Haaland on the end of the passes coming from the magic boots of Phil Foden could only mean great things – and that’s precisely what Pep Guardiola’s men are aiming for. Anyone interested in backing the team to go all the way for glory can do so with bookmakers such as Unibet, Palmerbet, and Bet365 – all of which offer some of the most popular betting payment methods.
