Gareth Southgate has warned young midfielder Phil Foden that he must become a regular at Manchester City in order to play for England.
Foden made his debut for City when he was just 17 after Pep Guardiola identified his startling talent, but three years later he is yet to become a permanent fixture in the starting XI.
It's of little surprise considering the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva and Bernardo Silva are above him in the pecking order but his lack of minutes has certainly held him back on the international stage. Jadon Sancho, who is the same age, left City for first-team football and is now one of the game's biggest stars.
Guardiola has always maintained that the best thing for Foden's development is to stay at the club and train with his teammates rather than leave on loan for first-team experience.
There's no doubt that Foden has the potential to be a sublime player, and he showed as much with his Man of the Match performance in the Carabao Cup final victory, but he has still only started three times in the Premier League this season.
That isn't nearly enough for Southgate and he has warned the 20-year-old that he must become a regular at his club if he wants to earn his first senior cap and go on to have an England career.
“If young players have a season in terms of opportunity, like Mason Mount did this year – playing in the Champions League, playing in a top-four side, playing under pressure – then that can be a great development year," Southgate said.
“It’s quite interesting we are seeing the sort of player like Mason and Phil Foden in that sort of advanced midfield role.
“Phil is definitely a different sort of player, with attributes that are rare in our game, and we’ve had such high hopes for him in the England system for quite a while.
“It’s great that we are developing these players, but the obvious thing is that he has got to play. If he’s not playing regularly, it’s going to be more difficult for him.
“But if he can break into City’s team, he will clearly be playing at a very high level – and he will be in our squad, without a doubt.”
Foden has been repeatedly earmarked as the successor to David Silva in the City team and with the club great leaving after 10 years this summer the door may finally be open for the 'Stockport Iniesta' to stake his claim in the side.
