After yet another sparkling performance for Manchester City in the Champions League quarter-finals last night, springing the visitors back into life after they let an early lead dwindle, it’s become more apparent than ever that Phil Foden has to start for England at Euro 2024.
To be more precise, after the likes of Harry Kane, Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham, we can’t think of another name we’d more readily put on the teamsheet than his.
It’s no secret that Phil Foden is having the best season of his footballing career this year, with last night’s fine finish to make it 2-2 and get Man City back on Real Madrid’s necks making it 22 goals and 10 assists across all competitions for the campaign so far.
You only have to see Pep Guardiola‘s reaction to understand just how great and big a goal it was in the tie – you won’t catch many other players getting congratulations like this from him mid-match:
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 9, 2024
No other Premier League player has scored more goals from outside of the box (six) this season than Foden either.
But we’ve seen countless impressive strikes from him of late and indeed throughout his seven years in the City – he scored his second hattrick of the season and third ever at the weekend, let’s not forget – so why do we now believe more than ever that he has to be one of the first names of the teamsheet?
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Well, for starters, it’s how varied his finishing ability has now become. Be it a screamer from range, a tried and tested tap-in at the back stick or even a header here and there, it looks as though the 23-year-old is starting to really open up the full locker when it comes to shots on target.
He’s always been a creator for the Blues too, but the ‘Stockport Iniesta’ is now just one assist away from matching his highest tally ever in a single campaign, with plenty of games left to play before we find out how many trophies his team will retain.
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Revered ex-pros turned pundits Thierry Henry and Jamie Carragher spent a good chunk of Tuesday night’s post-match analysis discussing how Foden can make sure he carries this form over to representing the Three Lions.
Can Phil Foden translate his scintillating City form to the international stage with England?
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) April 9, 2024
He had the hair at the Euros last time but we still believe Foden’s ‘Gazza’ moment for England is yet to come.
But beyond the admittedly impressive stats like being the only English player to make 30+ goal contributions without a single penalty involved, it’s the unrelenting energy on the pitch that is giving us hope that he might do something special for us this summer — both figuratively and literally, in fact.
Not only is the attacking midfielder one of those terrier types that will just run and run, often leading the pressing for Pep’s side, exhausting the channels and not hesitating when moving into space, but he’s also becoming the spark that ignites City into playing at their vintage best more and more regularly
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It obviously helps a lot when you have players like Bernardo Silva, Erling Haaland and the best midfielder in the Premier League, Kevin De Bruyne around you; nevertheless, there’s it says a lot that he’s arguably been their player of the season and this is the kind of talent he’s competing with.
It’s not necessarily always the the case that he’s creating things out of absolutely necessarily of nothing (it’s rare Pep’s team are ever just not playing or working towards something) but whenever the treble-winners have been accused of looking complacent or not quite up to their very high standards, he’s got them across the line on more than one occasion.
He might still be a young man on paper but in relative footballing terms, he’s clearly reached a new level of maturity whenever matchday rolls around and, at the risk of sounding like we’re getting carried away, he’s been in the first team for long enough now that he’s emerging as somewhat of a leader.
You only have to hear how he spoke after the game to see the progress he’s made as a professional, telling the club: “This team’s come a long way now. When we go down we don’t put our heads down and believe in our ability. We know we can always come back from behind. It’s a great team to be a part of.”
To be honest, Phil, we think it’s you that’s come a long way. Having already proved he can perform on the biggest stage in the Champions League last year, we’re starting to imagine golden moments for England at the Euros and we wouldn’t be surprised if you see Foden among the headlines.
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We’re, of course, not the only ones who now firmly believe Phil Foden has to be not just part of but central to Gareth Southgate’s attacking lineup at Euro 2024, with Man United legend Roy Keane echoing a similar sentiment, but either way this England squad as a whole is giving us a lot to be excited about.
Featured Images — Man City (via Instagram)/England
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Manchester City finally release special Year of the Horse collection for Lunar celebrations
Danny Jones
Manchester City have officially launched their new ‘Year of the Horse’ kit, along with several other items in their latest lifestyle range.
The collection, which has been released as part of the Lunar New Year Celebrations, was leaked online in late 2025 before being officially teased earlier this year, but now Man City have fully unveiled the limited edition clothing items.
It follows the commercial success of their previous Chinese New Year-inspired kits and wider fashion lines over the last few seasons.
For anyone not up to speed on their Zodiac calendar knowledge, 2026 is officially (you guessed it) the year of the horse, hence this choice for the new ‘Capsule Collection’.
“Set in earthy, neutral tones, the limited-edition Year of the Horse Capsule Collection captures both the stillness of vintage Chinese portraiture and the motion of a team in full stride.”
Revolving around a grey and almost beige colour palette, the full drop includes a new pre-match ‘Anthem’ jacket, a dark graphic design tee, a baseball cap, as well as a soft horse plushie.
The focal point, however, is obviously the jersey itself – though it remains to be confirmed whether or not the special seasonal strip will be worn in any games this campaign as other one-off/special limited edition shirts have been in the past.
The price points range from £15 for the soft toy to £90 for the adult shirt, with the aforementioned Puma KING Anthem zip-up jacket already available in six colours.
What do you make of the latest lifestyle collection, Blues?
Somewhat fittingly, the Year of the Horse and other items finally debuted on the same day that their local rivals across the other side of town, Manchester United, released some new threads of their own: the second Adidas x The Stone Roses collection.
As for this years Lunar celebrations, the official plans for here in Manchester city centre have now been revealed. You can find out more down below.
Stockport County confirm signing of new striker Adama Sidibeh
Danny Jones
Stockport County Football Club have officially unveiled the signing of new striker, Adama Sidibeh, from St Johnstone FC.
This comes after weeks of uncertainty over whether or not the deal for the forward was going to be done, despite his medical having already been passed.
Sidibeh was linked with a move from the Scottish Premiership quite early in the January transfer window, and the transfer fee had already reportedly been agreed, but there was apparently to be some contention over personal terms.
However, it seems the impasse has now been overcome and a full agreement reached, with the Hatters finally announcing the completion of his deal on Tuesday, 27 January.
As you can see, the Gambian international is no stranger to England nor the North West, having moved back to the UK to be with his family in 2022, before going on to join local Stockport club Cheadle Heath Nomads in 2022.
Moving on to nearby Cheshire outfit Warrington Rylands FC the following season, he continued to prove himself as a quick and consistent goal threat, ultimately sealing a switch to The Saints in 2024.
Sidibeh’s transfer fee from St Johnstone to SCFC remains undisclosed.
Penning a two-and-a-half-year contract, the latest County recruit is the third signing of the January transfer window so far, following the most recent arrival of Josh Dacres-Cogley from Bolton Wanderers earlier this month.
Having been given the number 26, he is the latest offensive reinforcement at Edgeley Park as they look to enjoy a fairly ‘aggressive’ window, as promised.
Speaking on his new home in a club statement, the 27-year-old said: “I’m so excited to be [sitting] here now as a Stockport County player.
“It’s a town and a club I already know so well from my time at Nomads, which made it an easy decision for me and my family to come here once we heard that County were interested.
“I can’t wait to get going now, to start my career in the Football League and to play in front of 10,000 fans at Edgeley Park. I’ve worked very hard to get to this place in my career since moving to England, and will work even harder now I’m here to help the team as we go for promotion.”
As for his new manager, Dave Challinor made it clear they were keen to capitalise on his contract running out, adding that apart from being a bit of a late bloomer in pro football, “he’s a real hard worker that provides real intensity in his press. and really wants to threaten defenders both in and out of possession.”
“He’s scored all types of goals at every level he’s played at, but this will, without doubt, be a step up for him” – it just remains to be seen how he’ll take to the League One and wider EFL challenge.
Danny Jones -
10th April 2024 
