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?
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.
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
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.
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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Marcus Rashford officially unveiled as a Barcelona player after sealing blockbuster loan move
Danny Jones
Manchester United star and England international Marcus Rashford has officially been unveiled as an FC Barcelona player after signing a new loan deal with the iconic Catalan club.
While Rashford remains a favourite among millions of Man United fans, his time at The Theatre of Dreams has been somewhat turbulent of late, to say the least, and the relationship between him and manager Ruben Amorim was such that it was made clear the lifelong Red was no longer part of his plans.
Having spent the second half of last season on loan at fellow Premier League side Aston Villa, following a fairly uncertain January transfer window, when a move to Barcelona first emerged as a possibility.
The Wythenshawe winger went on to register a combined seven goals and assists in his first half a dozen starts over in Birmingham and quickly became popular among many supporters, but it looks as though his eyes were always set on a switch to Barca.
Leaks of the Mancunian-born and bred footballer and MBE were shared online on Tuesday, 22 July, with Rashford’s arrival at the airport and snaps of him carrying out his first media photoshoot ahead of being unveiled in the famous red and blue stripes appearing on social media.
Joining the Blaugrana on loan under an initial 12-month contract, the deal is reported €14 million (approximately £12m) gross in salary plus bonuses linked to appearance clauses. It was Rashford’s significant wages that made Villa and other clubs’ pursuits challenging.
Most notably, however, the agreement is said to include an option to buy, which would see Barcelona secure Rashford on a permanent basis for an estimated fee of £26 million including add-ons.
At 27 years old and with more goals than United legends like Andy Cole, Tommy Taylor and his ex-manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær – more than 30 of those coming against the ‘big six’ – plenty has been made of whether this price is a fitting representation of his value and talent when at his blistering best.
Nevertheless, it appears that his new home fans have no shortage of excitement, as it didn’t take long for street art to hit the streets of Barca; in fact, this particular mural was painted before Rashford had even officially joined, and people lined up outside the Nou Camp to watch him arrive at the hallowed stadium.
Marcus Rashford artwork is already on the streets of Barcelona 🔥🎨
Echoing shades of Scott McTominay’s somewhat reluctant move to reigning Italian champions, Napoli, not only does Rashford’s second spell away from his boyhood club seem it could be very well be a long goodbye, but we’ve already seen a few first-team Red Devils excel after leaving Old Trafford.
For instance, Brazilian forward Antony hit the ground running after joining Real Betis on loan (with the club joking that they needed to start a “crowdfunded to keep him“), and now former fellow academy graduate Elanga has moved to his second team post-United, joining Newcastle for a hefty £55m.
Between them, they contributed to 32 goal involvements since donning a different shirt – the latter doing so in just a matter of months.
Even Jadon Sancho managed to regain some semblance of form after rejoining Chelsea on a short-term deal, scoring the penultimate goal in the Conference League final against the aforementioned Betis, though the west London outfit ultimately opted to pay a penalty to avoid their obligation to buy.
Put it this way: if this is set to be the final farewell from the now-ex-number 10 after more than two decades in Man United colours, it isn’t as simple as a fallout with the gaffer or the player just ‘wanting away’. It’s part of a larger and longer-running pattern.
His old teammate, Paul Pogba, also believes his old club are ‘losing a great player‘.
As Gary Lineker hinted at in his recent interview regarding Rashford and Barca, who was the last Englishman to join the La Liga giants nearly 40 years ago, there seems to be a running theme and “problem” over in the red half of Manchester.
Rashford will wear the number 14: the same number that retired Arsenal and legendary French footballer Thierry Henry wore when he arrived at Barcelona – a player who Marcus had made no secret of idolising growing up and mirrors much of his game on.
Do you think it’s the right decision by Rashford and/or Manchester United?
🗞️ Marcus Rashford has joined Barcelona on a season-long loan.
Road to Victory returns for massive Euro 2025 final screening at AO Arena
Danny Jones
England are in another final, and you know what that means: Road to Victory is returning to Manchester for another massive screening at the AO Arena as England’s women’s team prepare to defend their Euros trophy.
Sarina Weigman’s side made it to their second consecutive European final on Tuesday night following more late drama for the Lionesses against Italy.
The squad, which has seen a number of personnel changes since Euro 2022, managed to make it through to the final in the eleventh hour thanks to another stoppage-time equaliser from Michelle Agyemang and even more tense follow-up from a scuffed spot-kick by Chloe Kelly.
Will they ever stop giving us heart palpitations at major tournaments? Probably not, but the big watchalong party inside the AO Arena, which will see thousands turn up to watch the Euro 2025 final, is sure to deliver plenty of excitement either way.
For anyone unfamiliar with the massive fan zone – one of THE biggest in all Europe, in fact – Road to Victory is the unparalleled supporter party by AIX (Amplified Immersive Xperiences) Live, who specialise in the top-end of audio-visual matchday viewing vibes.
Having hosted huge screenings for the previous men’s Euros and the Qatar World Cup, and even inspiring a massive watchalong of last season’s Europa League final at the venue, Road to Victory (RtV) is just about as big and bold as it gets.
Think BOXPARK in London only bigger, more interactive and, dare we say it… better?
Yes, we do dare say it; having attended RtV on multiple occasions since it landed here back in 2022, we can confirm you won’t find an atmosphere quite like it anywhere else. At least not in Greater Manchester, anyway.
Case and point:
With doors to the women’s Euros screening opening at 4pm, there’ll be plenty of time for pre-match build-up before the game gets underway, and there’ll be plenty of entertainment, light displays, food, drinks and more – it’s just up to Manchester fans to be in full voice.
The Women’s European Championships certainly have a more all-ages, family-friendly feel to them, but Road to Victory and the AO Arena are still ensuring they deliver a palpable match-day energy.
Tickets are already live following England’s place in the last two of the Women’s Euros now confirmed, it’s merely a matter of securing yours and finding out who, out of Germany and Spain, will meet them in the final this weekend.
Once again, the 2025 Women’s Euros final kicks off at 5pm on Sunday, 27 July, and you can grab your tickets for the Road to Victory screening at the AO Arena in Manchester right HERE.
Danny Jones -
10th April 2024 
