Kevin De Bruyne expects that Phil Foden will turn into a central midfielder at Manchester City despite his attacking threat on the wing.
Foden first caught Pep Guardiola's eye playing through the middle in the City academy but has been used almost exclusively in the first team as a winger. While that has predominantly been because the Blues did not have a No.9 and Foden has one of the best senses of goal, he has stayed in that role since the arrival of Erling Haaland at the club in summer.
Scoring three goals in the Manchester derby is not too shabby a performance from out wide, and goes to show just what a talent City have on their hands. Guardiola has spoken before about Foden still needing time to learn the patience required in central midfield, and with De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva in those positions there are three masters that he must try to match.
Guardiola is expecting to move Foden at some point though, and the 22-year-old also has the approval of the best midfielder in the league in De Bruyne.
"He will improve because he's only 22. I know at 22 I wasn't the player that I am now," he said. "He's so good so it's trying to find consistency. He's been playing unbelievably for us so he will be here for a long time.
"What is he good at? The better question is what is he not good at. He can play in a lot of different positions. I think eventually he will end up playing centrally in my opinion but in this moment in time it is maybe a little bit better for him on the wing to have more freedom and fewer instructions so he flows into the game.
"I eventually see him playing more centrally when he gets older and gets more stamina. It's all about little details to just find more consistency in the performances."
Source: m.allfootballapp.com