As an English football fan, it’s very hard not to get excited after watching Phil Foden play.The 18-year-old, who won the Golden Ball award at the FIFA Under-17 World Cup last year, is a remarkable talent.Blessed with exceptional close control, an eye for a killer pass and football intelligence that defies his tender age, Foden is a very rare talent indeed.However, the teenager is at a club where competition for a spot in the first team is incredibly fierce.Manchester City have an embarrassment of riches in their squad and, as a result, Foden knows that he must take any chances that he gets with both hands.He did just that during Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup match away at League One Oxford United.Foden had a hand in both of City’s opening goals and then capped off a Man of the Match display by scoring his first senior goal in stoppage time as City wrapped up a 3-0 victory.
Robinson's bold statement about Foden
After the match, Oxford boss Karl Robinson made some bold comments about the English starlet, describing aspects of his game as “genius” while comparing him to the great Andres Iniesta.
“We planned to press, and after three-and-a-half minutes, we had three of ours pressed on that one player. I think I blinked, the next thing he was through them,” he was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail.
“His ability, his orientation of himself on the football is genius.
“These are things when you're working with young players, that you find that only very few coaching sessions can really bring that out. There's a naturalness to that. And it's something I've not seen for a long time.
“You'd almost put him in the same bracket as when you see...I remember seeing Barcelona live and seeing Iniesta playing in those sort of positions. He's almost like that. He's small.
“So please academies, don't release small talented players. There's a home for them in our country. We can grow them, we can develop them, we can aid them.”
Guardiola responds to Robinson's Foden assessment
Huge praise from Robinson. It’s certainly very rare to hear a manager speak like that about an opposition player after a match.
Guardiola was then informed about Robinson’s comments in his post-match press conference but was reluctant to agree with the Iniesta comparisons.
“Wow. These are big, big words. I have said many times we are delighted with Phil,” Guardiola responded.
“I am not going to say he is going to become Andres Iniesta because it puts pressure on him, Iniesta is by far one of the best players I ever saw in my life so we cannot put the pressure on Phil.
“But he has the quality to stay here for 10 years because I think he wants to stay, I think the club wants him to. But step by step, he needs to play regularly, but I think he has all the skills to play with us.”
Guardiola was also delighted with Foden’s passionate celebration and believes the midfielder could spend the next decade at the Etihad Stadium.
“The way he celebrated his first goal was like the final of the World Cup and that is because he is a City fan,” he added.
“My dream is for him to stay 10 years and if Phil stays for 10 years, he can - in the next decade - play regularly and after (that) I don't know what is going to happen with him.”
Watch Foden’s goal here…
And his post-match interview with Man City’s YouTube channel here…