Phil Foden: I’m forever grateful for the opportunities Pep gave me at young age

Manchester City forward Phil Foden believes he is reaping the rewards from the approach manager Pep Guardiola took with him when he broke into the side as a youngster.

The academy graduate made his first-team debut seven years ago after coming off the bench as a 17-year-old in a Champions League match against Feyenoord.

Within a year a debate began to grow about whether he would benefit from going out on loan rather than making fleeting substitute appearances, but Guardiola was adamant he wanted to oversee the teenager’s development.

Foden has gone on to win six Premier League titles, a Champions League, two FA Cups, four league cups, is closing on 300 club appearances and has 43 England caps, indicating the decision has been more than justified.

The 24-year-old Stockport-born forward admits he will be forever grateful to Guardiola, who has signed a two-year extension to a contract which expires in the summer.

“When I made it to the first team I couldn’t have asked for a better coach than Pep to improve me as a player and make me find that final push I needed to mature into the first team,” Foden told the PA news agency at a McDonald’s Fun Football event.

“Definitely working with him when I was younger was massive for me to become a man at such a young age and step into the first team.

“That’s where a lot of trust is involved. I spoke to him a couple of times (early in his career) and I knew his intentions and what he needed from me.

“I just had to remain patient as, at the end of the day, I was playing with world-class players who were in front of me – there was no reason for me to be playing at such a young age.

“I trusted in the process and trusted in Pep, believed in everything he was telling me, and just put my head down and tried to become a better player in training and I can see now that I am getting the rewards from that.”

Foden almost became a pet project for Guardiola as the Catalan tried to nurture his prodigious talent and integrate it into a team full of senior internationals.

Ahead of the 2019-20 season the City boss described him as “the most talented player I have ever seen in my career as a manager”, which is high praise indeed from someone who coached Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta at Barcelona.

Foden has thrived off the back of that support and guidance.

“He gives you all the tools you need to be the player you want to be,” he added.

“He is really good at managing young players, not putting them in at the wrong time and then when they start to play in the first team it is the right time.

“It’s a process I had to believe in and I knew, at the right time when I was performing at the best I could, he would give me the opportunities.

“He picked me when I was young for a reason. It’s important to have that little bit of freedom and he’s good at giving me that.

“A player like me who is attacking and likes to score goals, they need that little bit of freedom.

“I’m forever grateful for the opportunities he gave me and I’m just happy with where I am now.”

Foden is a McDonald’s Fun Football ambassador and believes the scheme offers important opportunities for youngsters who did not have the same access to football as he had.

“You don’t see as many kids playing football on the streets like when I was younger,” he said.

“It’s just a great event to get kids involved and the main thing is for them to enjoy it. Smiles on their faces is the most important thing.”

:: Phil Foden was celebrating the latest free wave of McDonald’s Fun Football sessions this Autumn, available to all children aged 5-11 across the UK. Sign up now for your nearest free session at mcdonalds.co.uk/football