Phil Foden is getting a lot of praise right now following his performance for Manchester City in their 3-0 win over Oxford United.

The 18-year-old played the entire 90 minutes and he made the most of his opportunity in the first team, providing an assist and scoring the third goal.

The plaudits quickly followed.

Oxford boss Karl Robinson described parts of Foden’s game as “genius”, while comparing him to Spanish great Andres Iniesta.

“His ability, his orientation of himself on the football is genius,” Robinson said.

“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.”

Comparisons to Iniesta are very premature but it’s not the first time that an emerging player has been likened to the Barcelona legend.

The next Iniesta

There have been several players dubbed ‘the next Iniesta’ - a tag that’s proven to be very difficult to live up to.

GiveMeSport has taken a look at three players who have received such hype.

Carles Alena

Back in 2016, Bleacher Report wrote a piece titled: ‘Barcelona's Carles Alena: The Long-Awaited Heir Apparent to Andres Iniesta?’

Alena, 20, has attracted a great deal of attention following his performances for Barcelona B.

He made his senior debut in November 2016, starting and scoring against Hercules CF in the Copa del Rey, and he made his first La Liga appearances in April 2017.

The midfielder, who considers Iniesta one of his idols, played in three first team matches last season, all coming in the Copa del Rey.

Barcelona clearly have plans for Alena but his development was halted after suffering an injury in June of this year.

Isco

It was in 2013 when BBC Sport said Isco was ‘the new Andres Iniesta’.

Isco was making an impression at Malaga and it wouldn’t be long before he completed a move to Real Madrid.

The Spaniard made an immediate impact, providing an assist and scoring the winner in a 2-1 win over Real Betis on his debut in August 2013.

Isco has since won the La Liga title and helped Los Blancos win four Champions League titles.

He’s scored 43 goals in 247 appearances for the club.

Philippe Coutinho

Barcelona signed Coutinho in January with the intention of him replacing Iniesta in the team.

During the height of his career at Anfield, Graeme Souness likened him to the Spanish wizard.

“He’s an Iniesta type, he’s capable of goals but most importantly he’s capable of making the right pass at the right time in the last third of the pitch,” Souness told Sky Sports.

The Blaugrana paid £142 million to sign Coutinho and he’s started to show why he commanded such a fee.

Luis Suarez hailed the impact he made from off the bench in Barcelona’s 2-1 win over Real Sociedad earlier in the month.