Former England striker Chris Sutton has stated that Phil Foden must be played centrally for Manchester City and England moving forward.
Sutton hailed Foden as 'the new Gascogine' as he put together an exquisite performance in the centre of midfield on Saturday evening, as England manager Gareth Southgate switched to a three-man midfield after going with a 4-2-3-1 during the European Championship.
This gave Foden the platform to dictate the play from a central position - which he did all night long, playing a number of eye-catching through balls while grabbing an assist.
And Sutton has stated that moving forward, Foden must be used as centrally - rather than being coming from the right-wing.
After witnessing his performance, Sutton said: "He’s a gazelle. He’s graceful in his movement. He glides with and without the ball and everything he does seems so effortless, so natural, so easy.
"Like his assist for Bukayo Saka on Saturday night. Yes, it was against Andorra, but that doesn’t mean we cannot appreciate a perfect pass from an England player in a World Cup qualifier.
"Besides, Foden can turn it on against the big sides, too. He was Manchester City’s most influential player at Anfield last week. His best position isn’t yet obvious, and that’s pretty exciting for England and City. He’s a versatile 21-year-old who is developing with each week."
Foden's performance oozed class in the centre of midfield with eye-catching passes whilst showing his technical ability with the ball at his feet.
With Southgate clearly exploring his options before the 2022 World Cup, it's certainly not out of the realms of possibility that he could shift to a three-man midfield on a regular occurrence.
And Sutton even compared him to one of England's greatest ever attacking players.
He said: "I remember watching a youth-team player called Paul Gascoigne at Carrow Road. It was a messy game but he was three seconds ahead of the rest. He made it look like he was playing in his back garden. It was all on his terms.
"Foden invited any and all comparisons to Gazza when he bleached his hair blond in the summer and he isn’t so dissimilar in football terms.
"But we need to see him strut his stuff in central midfield before we can officially anoint him the Stockport Gazza."
Foden's performance in the centre of the pitch on Saturday night is bound to spark calls from some City supporters for manager Pep Guardiola to move Foden into the centre of midfield and operate as a playmaker in the No.10 position.
However, the 21-year-old flourished coming from the right-wing - putting in a man of the match performance at Anfield just eight days ago.
Foden has years ahead of him to nail down a position, but for now, his versatility can only be a good thing for City, as well as England.
England are set to face Hungary tomorrow night.
