Pundit Arena Because Sport Is Everything
Manchester United cruised past City in a pre-season friendly last week but one of the standout performers was actually playing in blue.
Phil Foden, at just 17, was a constant thorn in United’s side and tested David De Gea on more than one occasion. Despite the supreme quality on display, Foden impressed with his tenacious and creative play. Fans were very excited by the youngster and had hoped he could feature for the first team in the upcoming season but Pep Guardiola has already admitted youth players will play little to no part in his plans.
Former United defender Gary Neville has weighed in on the issue and took a not-too-subtle dig at the Citizens.
He's at the wrong Manchester club for getting a sustained opportunity. City have a lot of great kids. They should be playing… https://t.co/KgN9xUHclY
— Gary Neville (@GNev2) July 23, 2017
While Jose Mourinho may not be the most trusting manager of inexperienced talents, Guardiola has also proved that, when push comes to shove, he too has little faith.
Outside of Manchester City’s short-lived EFL Cup run, the former Barca boss seldom called upon players from his academy and has opted to cough up astronomical sums already this summer rather than promote from within.
Under The Special One, only two players made their first-team bows prior to the unimportant final weeks of the season but the Portuguese does seem to be slowly changing his ways in line with the club’s philosophy.
