Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has made a huge promise never to sell young midfielder Phil Foden – even for €500million.
The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss clearly rates Foden very highly, despite not yet making him a regular in his first-team at City.
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Still, he’s been quoted by the Sun as saying the 19-year-old is the one member of this squad that he’s determined never to let go, no matter the price.
Guardiola said: “We didn’t give Foden a new contract by accident.
“He is the only player that can’t be sold under any circumstances — the only one. Not even for 500m euros.
“Phil’s going nowhere — Phil IS City. We won’t be signing anyone else for that position.
“When David Silva leaves, we know exactly who our new magician will be.”
That’s some compliment to Foden, and the England Under-21 international will hope Guardiola sticks to his word and makes him a key part of his plans in the future.
David Silva will be leaving the Etihad Stadium at the end of this season, so there could be a gap to fill in this City side.
Foden looks like he has the talent to replace Silva and provide that spark and creativity from the middle of the park that Guardiola’s side could really miss once he’s gone.