Gareth Southgate has been hoping Phil Foden would get more action at Manchester City but that will not happen soon so why not call him up for England now, with Euro 2020 in mind?
Phil Foden has left enough positive impressions in the formative stages of his career that I hope it will not come across as too po-faced to ask whether this supremely talented footballer – and perhaps some of the people around him – can avoid getting too carried away now he is starting to benefit from the trappings of his industry.
That is not meant to sound impertinent but perhaps you saw the photograph of Foden that was circulated via Instagram on his 18th birthday. Can you imagine the fuss if, say, Raheem Sterling had posed for that kind of picture? Where you might ordinarily expect a few candles, Foden’s birthday cake was decorated with iced £50 banknotes. Loads of them, spilling out of a Gucci wallet that was also made of icing sugar, with a level of detail that suggested you wouldn’t find this kind of cake in your local Greggs. It all felt very Floyd Mayweather. And, yes, it’s only a stupid cake. But still, not what you might have expected if you know the unpretentious part of Stockport where Foden grew up.
Continue reading...