According to The Athletic, Manchester City's Phil Foden is back in contention for Gareth Southgate's England squad ahead of the Three Lions' fixtures later this month. 

Omitted from the last one following a controversial breaking of the COVID-19 bubble out in Iceland along with Manchester United's Mason Greenwood, their exclusion from the national side looks to be over.

Southgate is due to announce his squad next week with a friendly against the Republic of Ireland and a UEFA Nations League double-header against Belgium and Iceland up next.

Given some of the criticism England came in for over the course of the last international break, it's easy to see why Foden would be brought in from the cold. 

Though Belgium - ranked No.1 in the FIFA World Rankings - were beaten last month, some of the talk about England's style of play focused on the lack of creativity. With that in mind, someone such as Foden could at least help in the middle of the park. 

Two defensive midfielders were also selected during the last break with the likes of Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips featuring, so a more progressive player such as Foden to play centrally could be a huge boost in an attacking sense.

Compared to those two (should he play centrally rather than off the left), the 20-year-old makes more progressive runs (1.77 to 1.2 and 0.19 respectively) and completes more intelligent passes per 90 (0.88 compared to 0.4 and 0) so should help in attacking areas. 

While his behaviour in Iceland was controversial and the exclusion from the squad was understandable, Foden is a huge talent and can help England creatively.

With that in mind, it's little surprise to see him back in contention so quickly.