Pep Guardiola and his Manchester City staff are huge fans of the young midfielder.
Manchester City are ready to make starlet Phil Foden the highest paid young player in England, having finally unveiled him to the footballing public earlier this month, HITC Sport understands.
City have been nurturing 16-year-old Foden closely since his emergence in recent years, with many of their coaches knowing they had potentially their greatest ever find.
The Stockport-born youngster has rarely been used outside his own age group when playing in this country – in order to keep him under the radar, but when playing abroad they have used him actively with higher age groups – when he was 15, he would regularly travel with the Under-19.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola
Now HITC Sport understands that Foden is an active part of first-team training and he has impressed many on-lookers, including the likes of David Silva and Kevin De Buryne, who have told friends about the amazing young talent.
Pep Guardiola rewarded the midfielder with a place in the bench for their Champions League clash with Celtic, with his presence catching many from outside the club by surprise – but those who have known about Foden for sometime are not shocked at all.
Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium
A source told HITC Sport: “He is the best young player in England, think about when you first saw Joe Cole or even Gazza, this lad has that about him – but could be even better.”
City have been wrapping him in cotton wool to protect him and themselves against losing him, but they now know his first-team action means he can look forward to a deal which could net him in excess of £30,000-a-week.
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