After over a year of speculation and rumours, it finally looks like Phil Foden is set to sign a new contract at Manchester City.
Since early in 2021 there has been near constant talk of Foden renewing his terms at his boyhood club, but so far nothing official has been announced. However, the Manchester Evening News now understands that senior figures at City feel Foden penning a new deal is a matter of 'when', not 'if'.
Foden last signed a contract at City in December 2018, just over a year after he made his debut for Pep Guardiola's side. The six-year deal still has two more years to run, but given how Foden's role in the team has changed since then, any new deal he signs this year is expected to at least double his salary.
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Some outlets are reporting that Foden's new contract could be valid until 2028; only summer signing Kalvin Phillips currently has a contract that lasts that long. Such a deal for Foden - a homegrown talent in every sense - will further cement the connection between City academy and first team that his incredible rise helped to establish in the first place.
It has been well documented that not many young players at the CFA ever manage to cross the road and play regular minutes at the Etihad Stadium. That has long been portrayed as some great failure on City's part, but in reality the high standards set by Guardiola and his players, coupled with the pressure to win, means that only the very best young players are trusted to play for the first team.
Foden and Cole Palmer have shown that the transition from academy to regular first team member is possible, while City's record player sales this summer - many were academy products - proved that the academy is producing plenty of Premier League level talent.
A new bumper contract for Foden - both in terms of length and wage - will go even further to showing up and coming starlets what can happen if you stick around at the club. Gone are the days when talented youngsters were shunted aside to make way for expensive signings. If a player possesses the necessary talent, dedication and hunger to make it at City, then they will be rewarded for it.
Foden was already the poster boy for City's academy, and once he signs his new contract that status and the example he has set will be enshrined forever. If future generations of teenagers are inspired by his journey and believe they can follow in his footsteps, then that can only be a good thing for City and English football as a whole.
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