Phil Foden

Phil joined City at U9 level and signed his Academy scholarship in July 2016. His left foot and ability to glide past opponents have seen the Stockport-born play maker excel at every level, a trend which continued last season with the U18s. Utilized in both center midfield or from a wide position, his eye for a searching pass made him an integral cog for the young Blues. This creativity is complimented with his keen eye for a goal, and the 17-year-old found the net with regularity in the 2016/17 U18 Premier League campaign. His 11 goals from midfield proved invaluable and included crucial strikes against Liverpool, Middlesbrough, and in both the home and away games against Manchester United. Pep Guardiola rewarded the youngster's form by naming him in the first team squad for the final Champions League group stage game against Celtic in December 2016. After that, the midfielder was back making an impression in the U18s' FA Youth Cup run. He kicked off with a goal in the 4-0 third round win against Reading and scored a fine goal - displaying that talent for ghosting past opponents - in the 6-0 semi-final victory over Stoke. At international level, Foden joined teammates Curtis Anderson, Joel Latibeaudiere and Jadon Sancho in the England squad for the European U17 Championships, scoring in the final as the Young Lions suffered a penalty defeat at the hands of Spain. Foden was part of the first team squad for the US tour of the United States this summer, and he responded with a number of impressive displays. Early in the 2017/18 season, he featured in a number of first team squads, making the substitutes' bench for the games against Brighton, Everton and West Brom in the Carabao Cup, before departing for the FIFA U17 World Cup in India, where he won the Golden Ball for the tournament's best player and helped England to an Under-17s World Cup triumph. Foden made his senior debut for City against Feyenoord in the Champions League, replacing Yaya Toure in the 75th minute, becoming the Blues' youngest ever player to play in European competition in the process. Foden became the youngest Englishman to start a Champions League game when he was named in the starting XI against Shakhtar in December 2017 and made several cameo appearances during the remainder of the season.