Premier League's Most Destructive Player Is The Victim Of A Poor System

‘THE key for Phil is where he ends up, not his starting position’, said Gareth Southgate in May, hoping to end months of debate over Phil Foden’s position heading into Euro 2024.

- JOE BRAY

How is that working out, Gareth?

A third sluggish England performance saw the Three Lions somehow stumble into the knockout stages of the Euros as group winners, but the frustration is rife from the stands and in the TV studios.

Much of the debate is predictably focused around Foden – how can a player so destructive for City last season be nullified by England so quickly?

For Southgate to truly get the best out of Foden, he needs to take a leaf out of Pep Guardiola’s playbook, and not by saying simple things like the above quote. It’s all well and good pointing out that Foden can be effective coming inside from the wing, but he needs the support from his manager to be effective in the middle when he does that.

At City, Foden has similar hurdles to becoming a No.10 as he does with England. Kevin De Bruyne is City’s No.10 as long as he’s at the Etihad, and it’s fair for Southgate to play La Liga Player of the Season Jude Bellingham at the top of midfield as that is his best position. That means Foden can’t always be in his preferred position, yet Bellingham hasn’t helped Foden like De Bruyne does.