Phil Foden’s struggles with England: Does he need to leave Manchester City to reach his full potential?

Phil Foden remains a talking point amid what’s panning out to be a pretty disastrous 2024/25 so far for the Manchester City man, on both the club and international stage.

Just a year ago people were talking about Phil Foden as one of the best players in the Premier League, maybe even in the world.

The 24-year-old already has six Premier League titles to his name, and last season was his crowning glory, winning both the Premier League and Man City’s Player of the Season award.

He scored an incredible 19 goals in the Premier League, assisting eight more, with 27 goals and 13 assists in 53 appearances in all competitions for Pep Guardiola’s side last time round.

But Foden has just 10 goals and six assists in 38 games in all competitions this season. The 24-year-old has faced criticism from many but was named on Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for this March international break, much to the surprise of England fans.

Darren Bent slams Phil Foden over England vs Albania performance

Foden started the game against Albania and then came off the bench late on against Latvia. Tuchel won both games, 2-0 and 3-0 respectively, making for a steady start to life in the Three Lions dugout. But talkSPORT pundit Darren Bent was less than impressed with Foden’s performances.

Bent said of Foden’s performance against Albania: “Phil Foden again, on that right hand side, I hear so many people making so many excuses for him, that ‘His best position’s not on the left’, ‘He’s a no.10 or better off the right hand side’… He just looked like he had no confidence. Every single time he got the ball he passed it back. Never really tried to take the full-back on.”

Bent then suggested that Foden can’t make it work with England because he’s only ever played under Guardiola at City. Interestingly, the former Spurs hitman said: “I’ve said this before, he’s been under Pep’s guidance his whole career. All he knows is Pep. All he knows is that system. So when he comes to England, it just doesn’t cross over. The same Phil Foden you see for Manchester City, he doesn’t play that way for England.”

Does Phil Foden have to leave Manchester City to become a global superstar?