Phil Foden won Man of the Match in Manchester City’s latest League Cup triumph, but the worry for him is will Pep Guardiola keep picking him?
Guardiola has already said he’s one of the best players he’s ever worked with and that’s fine.
But if you are only going to get an opportunity every seven, eight or nine games then Foden, on the back of a really good performance on Sunday, has some thinking to do.
He doesn’t want to be getting to next September and be living off the memory of the Carabao Cup.
If I were him, I’d demand a sit-down with the manager and the coaching staff and say that unless he gets more opportunities to play he might take the Jadon Sancho route.
There are any number of clubs across Europe who would take him, and if he’s not playing regularly by mid-August then if I were him I’d say I want to go out on loan.
And not just for six months, but for 18 months or two years.
I’m sure he’s going to be thinking he’s going to be late to the party for the Euros, and he will be thinking ahead to the 2022 World Cup.
He’s got to play.
He can’t play one game in 10. The League Cup will be forgotten in two weeks’ time.
He’s proved he deserves the opportunity now, so come on Pep, give him a chance.
