Kevin De Bruyne has tipped Phil Foden to one day move into a central position, with the Manchester City attacker currently primarily being used as a winger by Pep Guardiola.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, the Belgian international lauded his 22-year-old teammate after a fantastic performance against Manchester United on Sunday, with Foden bagging his first professional debut as City won 6-3 against their Manchester and Premier League rivals.
As reported by the Athletic, Foden is on the verge of signing a six-year deal with City that will keep the forward at the club well into his prime, with De Bruyne no doubt delighted that the forward will commit his long-term future to the Etihad Stadium side.
Whilst Foden has largely played as a winger during his senior City career, the 18-cap England international has played in central midfield on a few occasions. And for De Bruyne, the 31-year-old has made the surprising prediction that the Premier League wonderkid will one day permanently move into the position.
De Bruyne said when asked about Foden’s versatility on the pitch: “He can play a lot of different positions. I think eventually he’ll end up centrally but at this moment it’s maybe a bit better for him on the wing to have more freedom and fewer instructions so he flows into the game.
The former VfL Wolfsburg superstar playmaker added on his City teammate: “I eventually see him playing more centrally when he gets older and gets more stamina. It’s all about little details to just find more consistency in the performances.”
De Bruyne’s Foden prediction is frightening to think about
Foden has been one of the best attackers in the Premier League over the past three seasons, and the thought of the winger taking his talents into central midfield to succeed the likes of De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva is quite the scary prospect for many top Premier League and European sides.
After all, Foden attacking and creating from deep could frighten many defences at the top-level. And De Bruyne now tipping his City teammate to one day make the switch speaks highly of how good this England international could become in the future.
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