Gareth Southgate questions Phil Foden as midfield option for England
England manager Gareth Southgate has sparked conversation about where Phil Foden’s position lies in the Three Lions squad.
“He doesn’t (play centrally) for his club, so presumably there’s a reason for that”, is what the 53-year-old manager said when the press questioned why Foden is yet to be utilised in his natural position.
The response from Southgate immediately sparked debate amongst pundits and fans concerning that exact ‘reason’.
Let’s take a closer look at why Foden may be seen as a winger to Southgate and why giving him the license in midfield could be the difference for England at Euro 2024.
The Apprentice
Since the Stockport-born broke onto the Premier League scene in 2018 for City, Foden has always had a squad of world-class talent to compete with.
There was his idol, David Silva and then the silky Ilkay Gundogan and arguably the greatest midfielder of the Premier League era, Kevin De Bruyne.
For some, competing alongside such greats would break a player or make them want to move away, but Foden stayed at his club to learn from his colleagues and manager Pep Guardiola.
During his City career thus far, Foden has played as a false 9, on the left or right wings and, of course, in the middle of the park.
Being a world-class player in several positions may be what is holding Foden back with England.
The likes of De Bruyne, Gundogan and Jack Grealish limited Foden’s minutes at the back end of City’s treble-winning campaign due to their impressive form.
Fast forward to the present, and skipper Gundogan has moved onto a new chapter at Barcelona and in the season’s first game, De Bruyne suffered a severe injury, keeping him out for a lengthy spell.
In light of City’s suffering, opportunity struck for the 23-year-old, who returned to the Blues’ midfield with a Man of the Match performance against Newcastle United.
With this in mind, Southgate may be proven wrong at the end of this season, but for now, Foden’s positional flexibility may be his downfall in the eyes of the England boss.
With his competition gone, Foden’s time to cement himself as one of the country’s best midfielders is now.
Not one of Gareth’s boys
After England’s underwhelming draw to Ukraine on Saturday, the England manager again was scrutinised for his team selection.
It is easy for the ex-England player to state that Foden is a winger, but he isn’t the only player who he is mispositioning with the inform James Maddison of Spurs being placed on the left wing, far from his usual midfield role.
Along with this, Maddison clearly seemed to struggle out on the left, and this is one of many circumstances where the former Middlesborough manager has played players out of their regular roles.
Another reason Southgate may be the issue is when you look at his ‘core group’.
Since the surprise run of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the Englishman has stuck loyal to a core group of players in an attempt to regrow the unity in the national team, which has proven to work with the team and the fans having their best relationship since Euro 96.
One of Southgate’s nailed-on starters, Harry Maguire, has now played more minutes for England this season than his club, Manchester United, a statistic that is not only shocking but indeed leaves players who aren’t in the current group with little hope of breaking into the side.
How is a team supposed to evolve and progress if players like Maguire, who has not played for his club consistently since Eric Ten Hag took over as manager, are a mainstay in the team, no matter the levels of his performances?
Newer additions to the squad like Lewis Dunk, Marc Guehi, Eberechi Eze and Eddie Nketiah have no chance to cement themselves in a team that is so set in its ways.
With this in mind, Foden is another victim of Southgate’s predictable team selections, limiting his chances.
In the last five games for England, Jordan Henderson has started all but one, and Declan Rice has started all of them. The other players to appear are Kalvin Phillips, Trent Alexander Arnold and Jude Bellingham.
So, how is Foden expected to show his ability if he isn’t given a chance? Especially behind a right-back in Trent, a Henderson who is way past his best and Phillips, who only played 290 minutes of Premier League football last campaign.
The Southgate system
Along with his team selections, the England boss’ cautious style of play may be why the mercurial Foden is shafted to the wing or even the sidelines.
The team typically has two holding or defensive midfielders, such as Rice and Henderson or Phillips.
Then Bellingham, Maddison or Mount are given a slightly more advanced role in the pinnacle of the middle of the park, coming to the assumption that maybe Southgate does not think that Foden has the defensive capabilities that his counterparts possess.
However, one of the most crucial parts of a Manchester City player is to win the ball back and FAST, something he has been doing for years, so it can’t be that, surely?
With Southgate set to lead the nation at Euro 2024, the rigid and safe play style is unlikely to evolve before the tournament.
England isn’t and has never displayed expressive and attacking prowess under Southgate, and Phil Foden, among others, has become a fatality to the managers philosophy.
The national team has succeeded to a certain extent under Southgate, playing with a pragmatic approach; however, the Three Lions have repeatedly fallen short at the final hurdle.
On Tuesday, England played Scotland away at Hampden Park, and Foden was selected in the 150th-anniversary friendly fixture, but once again on the wing.
The 23-year-old picked up a goal against England’s rivals, surely giving his manager a headache, right?
It is hard to predict the future, but the early signs of this season look positive for Foden.
With his position in Manchester City seeming pretty set on most games, he will have the opportunity to play in his position to get to his best and make a bigger case to his national team manager.
No Mount: An opportunity?
With Mason Mount missing out on the international break due to injury, a position opened up in England’s midfield.
In both the Ukraine qualifier and the Scotland derby, Bellingham was given the number 10 position, an opportunity that he took by the scruff of the neck with a goal and assist against the Scots.
However, with Southgate giving the Birmingham-born star serious minutes across the break, it does beg the question of why he would not give Foden a similar chance?
The Manchester City man not only given limited minutes versus Ukraine he also wasn’t helped by the fact that the Three Lions were not having their best outing.
It would be easy to assume that Foden doesn’t do enough when he plays for England, but under circumstances like in the Ukraine clash, several factors are against him before he even steps on the field.
The best football we have seen from Foden is when he is playing regularly, and if he isn’t given a good run for England, we may not see the Foden England need going into the Euros.
If Southgate can somehow galvanise a midfield, three of Foden, Bellingham and Rice England would go into the tournament with a real threat to any challengers boasting what could be one of the best midfields in the world.
