Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford stole the headlines during Friday morning's game between Manchester United and Manchester City on Thursday.It was Lukaku's well-taken strike that opened the scoring before Rashford made it 2-0 with a typically composed finish in a one-on-one situation.However, one other name was the talk of the town after the Manchester derby: Phil Foden.Many football fans had never heard of the 17-year-old prior to Friday's friendly, but he announced himself on the big stage in some style.The Stockport-born playmaker didn't let the occasion get the better of him and thoroughly impressed, even earning special praise from his manager, Pep Guardiola, after the game."I don't have words - I would like to have the right words to describe what I saw," said a shocked Guardiola in Houston."You are the lucky guys who saw the first game, for the first team for Manchester City, of this guy. It's a long time since I saw something like this."His performance was another level. He's 17 years old, he's a City player, he grew up in the academy, he loves the club, he's a City fan and for us he's a gift."There's a sad reality to this incredible story, though: Foden, despite playing so well against United, will barely get a sniff at City next season.Due to the quality of Guardiola's side, young players won't get the chance to prove themselves in the Premier League.Guardiola confirmed as much in May, saying: "They (the young players) will come to the United States on our pre-season tour so we are going to see how they are.
"They are 16, 17 or 18. The quality is there, but maybe not in the next year. Next season most of them will be training with us and we are going to see how they are."
Foden's time to shine will have to wait - and that saddens Gary Neville.
The Manchester United legend has slammed City and Guardiola on Twitter by saying Foden should play for his former employers instead, because they would give him more opportunities to play.
Check out his series of tweets below.
Neville wrote: "He's (Foden) at the wrong Manchester club for getting a sustained opportunity. City have a lot of great kids. They should be playing."
And in response to Guardiola's comments about not playing City's youngsters next season, the Sky Sports pundit added: "Sad, very sad."
Neville will point to Rashford's meteoric rise as evidence of United giving young talent the chance to flourish in the Premier League, which Guardiola isn't prepared to do.
And while he has a point, the simple fact of the matter is that Guardiola has too many attacking options to facilitate Foden. His time will come, but not for now.