Phil Foden, Manchester City’s English midfielder, was awarded this Saturday as best player of the year in the Premier League. The citizen youth player is the first English player to achieve this distinction since Wayne Rooney (winner in the 2009-10 season) and the sixth on a list that also includes Alan Shearer, Michael Owen, Kevin Philips and Frank Lampard. Foden, author of 17 goals and 8 assists, has emerged as a key player in what could be the fourth consecutive Premier League for Pep Guardiola’s team, an unprecedented milestone. The outcome of the fight for the title between City and Arsenal will be known this Sunday.
Breaking through as a youth player in a club with financial power like Manchester City, capable of signing the best players in the world every summer, is not easy. However, Foden, who spent his entire childhood as a ball boy at the Etihad Stadium, has been able to adapt to the circumstances. If last season he seemed to lose weight in the dressing room, he was relegated to the bench in favor of Jack Grealish on many occasions; In this campaign he has given a coup of authority and has emerged as the leader of the team above a Kevin De Bruyne weighed down by injuries and a more human version of Erling Haaland.
Although his case is meritorious, the truth is that Foden is one of the best talents of his generation. After debuting in the 2017-18 season at the age of 17, he already has the experience and track record of a veteran; highlighting his five Premier League titles (which could soon be six) and one Champions League. And not only that: but Foden, capable of playing on the wing, as a midfielder or as a false nine, grows every year.
From the left-handed and quality midfielder who emerged in the Premier, he knew how to adapt to the role of false nine, and after the arrival of Haaland, he has emerged as a three-quarters of the field player who combines tireless work in pressure, associative capacity of a tenand a cannon in his left leg.
The 2023-24 season has been his scoring explosion. With 17 goals and 6 assists in the Premier (25 goals and 11 assists in all competitions), the youth player citizenshas confirmed that in addition to quality, it has the necessary fang to be among the best. Not in vain, his coach Pep Guardiola already warned that Foden was “the best player in the league” after scoring a hat-trick against United during the month of March.
Taking into account his age, it would not be surprising if this was not the last award for the young Briton. Since its creation in 1994, only four players have managed to repeat the award, and all of them are foreigners: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium), Thierry Henry (France), Nemanja Vidić (Serbia), with two each.
City’s fifth consecutive award
The dominance of City, which could win its fourth consecutive league – something unprecedented in the Premier – against West Ham this Sunday, is reflected in the last five individual awards. For the fifth consecutive year (after Kevin de Bruyne in 2020 and 2022, Rúben Dias in 2021, and Erling Haaland in 2023), a City player wins the trophy.
Foden succeeds his teammate Erling Haaland, winner last season and nominated again this season thanks to his 27 goals in 30 games with which he is about to repeat as the competition’s top scorer. Despite his effectiveness in front of goal, his performance has been one notch below that of his debut season on the islands. On the other hand, Kevin De Bruyne has not been among the nominees due to his limited participation in the season due to injuries, and Rodrigo Hernández, a capital player for Guardiola, did not make the final cut to the surprise of many.
Beyond Foden, the other big favorite was his compatriot and also City youth player, Cole Palmer. After leaving the Etihad in search of a greater role at Chelsea, Palmer has been the great revelation of the season (winner of the trophy for best young player in the Premier) with his 22 goals and 11 assists, but sixth place in the bluesHe was penalized against Foden.
In the midst of the fight for the title, the two Arsenal players nominated were the NorwegianMartin Ødegaard and the Englishman Declan Rice. The Norwegian has confirmed his progression as one of the most quality and clear-sighted midfielders in the league, while Rice, the most expensive signing last summer (130 million euros), has given the team the balance it needed in the midfield. . With 7 goals and 8 assists, he has also emerged as a notable finisher and has emerged as the natural heir to former captain Granit Xhaka, now at Leverkusen.
Among the rest of the candidates is another of the season’s big surprises: Ollie Watkins. The English striker from Aston Villa has been the great offensive reference (19 goals and 13 assists) of the team coached by Unai Emery, with a historic fourth place that returns the Birmingham team to the Champions League for the first time since 1983.
Liverpool’s Dutch centre-back, Virgil Van Dijk, back at his best (the one that allowed him to win this award in 18-19), was also nominated, but the poor end of the season for the networks, out of the fight for the title, took him out of the pools. Finally, the Swede Alexander Isak, formerly of Real Sociedad, also managed to sneak into the final shortlist thanks to his 20 goals, being the first Newcastle player since Alan Shearer in the 2002/03 season to reach that figure. The irregular season of the magpiesseventh in the table, contrasts with their qualification for the Champions League last year and left their forward without options.
You can follow Morning Express Deportes inFacebook andxor sign up here to receiveour weekly newsletter.
