Pep Guardiola believes Phil Foden is on his way to developing into an attacking midfielder for Manchester City and is confident there is more to come from the academy graduate.
Foden broke his duck in Manchester derbies with a spectacular hat-trick in the 6-3 win against United at the Etihad, with Erling Haaland also firing in a treble.
It was a sweet day for Foden, with the Stockport-born 22-year-old desperate to score in a fixture that means so much to him. The treble took him to 51 goals for City and there are likely to be many more, with a new contract close to agreement as well.
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Guardiola used Foden as a striker last season, but he's been in brilliant form on the right wing this season and is likely to develop into an attacking midfielder at some point.
The City boss is excited to see what there is to come from Foden and believes he could be even better once his focus is entirely on his football.
"Phil is a reality, still is a young lad, but he played important games in the last years with us, not just the quality he has, you see how he runs, how he presses, the intensity he does it and the quality he has," he said.
"Last season he played many games as a striker, at the end he will be able to play as an attacking midfielder. Close to the box he has incredible sense.
"What a talent, what a reality. He is a good lad, he lives for football. Hopefully, he can stay many, many years for us and his private life can be settled perfectly and just focus on what he loves, to play football."
The front three of Foden, Haaland and Jack Grealish have started three of the last four games for City, with the Blues scoring 13 goals in those fixtures, of which that trio have 12.
But Guardiola is planning on rotating his team against FC Copenhagen this week, despite a long-term shoulder injury sidelining Kalvin Phillips and Rodri battling a calf complaint.
"It works well for today but we have Riyad, we’re waiting for him to come back to his best," said Guardiola.
"There are many games. The next game against Copenhagen we are going to rotate the team. Kalvin is injured for a long time, Rodri I don’t know when he comes back, he has a calf problem."
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