Sport

Pep Guardiola says Phil Foden is enjoying ‘his most influential season’ following hat-trick hero performance

Stockport's finest absolutely ran the show and Pep couldn't help but wax lyrical.

Danny Jones - 6th February 2024

Pep Guardiola has doubled down on his recent praise of Phil Foden by hailing this current campaign as “his most influential season” yet following his second career hat-trick and man-of-the-match performance on Monday night.

Guardiola had already described Foden’s role in Manchester City’s form over recent months as “decisive” prior to the 3-1 win over Brentford, but his incredible showing away at the G-Tech Community Stadium has only seen him heap further praise on the 23-year-old.

Although Man City did concede the first goal around the 20-minute mark straight from a goal kick, the number 47 did manage to equalise just before half-time to get his side firing.

The Stockport-born City and England forward then went on to grab a header for his second — the only one he’s scored for the Blues since his first goal against Spurs back in 2019 — before eventually making it three thanks to a quick lay-off from Haaland. It was the Phil Foden show and Pep loved every minute.

As you can see, while the Catalan coach has never made a secret of his love of Foden and huge faith in his talent, so many goal contributions and trophies later, and it now looks like the talk of him being a ‘promising young player’ has long since shifted into a senior star enjoying the best football of his career.

Recently stating that he thinks the local lad now “understands the game a little bit more”, it’s clear that the 53-year-old now trusts him to help run things just as much as the other leaders on the pitch, even going so far as to say, “He will take over from Kevin and Bernardo in the future – that is going to happen”.

One of the most impressive things in Pep’s eyes is also that “he can play in five different positions”, adding that his ability to arrive both in the 18 and six-yard box continues to improve, playing both “simple and aggressive” as well as becoming an even more “clever runner” as time goes on.

As for Foden himself, while he confessed he likes playing “anywhere in the middle”, he insisted that he’s just happy in this current run and doing whatever he needs to for the team, having now registered eight goals and seven assists with half a season still left to play. Some return, that is.

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Foden also revealed to club media the meaning behind his new celebration — which he had the pleasure of whipping out three times — assuring that “It’s a bit of banter between [him] and the lads”, detailing, “They say I shoot a lot in the five-a-side games; they call me the sniper.”

Now boasting regular minutes for his boyhood club and making an impact week in and week out, it seems to just be a case of remaining consistent for the youngster and further cementing his place in one of the most elite starting lineups most players could ever hope to compete for.

Moreover, as the pundits in the Monday Night Football studio were already licking their lips at, the prospect of players like Foden, Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice in a midfield three is one that will be very exciting for England fans in general ahead of Euro 2024. Where do you think his best position is?

You can watch the highlights from City’s away win against Brentford and Foden’s hat-trick down below:

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Featured Images — Sky Sports/Manchester City (via Instagram)