"In this moment I see him playing up front because he is dynamic, the sense of goal, he helps us with the first pressure and then afterwards backwards," said Pep Guardiola of Phil Foden in December 2020.
For a player who broke through the ranks as a central, or attacking, midfielder, Guardiola quickly decided that Foden's best position for his immediate development in the first team was in the attacking three positions.
And in the following year or so, it's a strategy that has emphatically worked. Foden played a starring role in City's Premier League title win last season as a winger, and showed his quality in the Champions League run to the final as he scored vital goals against Borussia Dortmund and started in the final.
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Guardiola continued in December 2020: "I’m pretty sure that with age – when he becomes 24 or 25 - he will be able to play more in the defensive midfield. He has to understand situations sometimes but it is part of the age.
"Now he can play both wings, behind the striker or a striker. His dynamic, the way he attacks the ball is incredible and that’s why as a manager having someone who can play in several positions is fundamental."
The manager has stuck to his word, and Foden has become one of the world's most exciting talents in the process. He has successfully kept Raheem Sterling on the bench for long periods - prompting Sterling to consider his City future - and helped Guardiola navigate 18 months without a main striker.
So it was curious to see Foden start in midfield in the FA Cup slog at Peterborough on Tuesday, as this is the position he was always earmarked for, but fans rarely get the chance to see how he is developing.
In a game with few talking points as City ground out a 2-0 win over the Championship strugglers, Foden's role in midfield could turn out to be an important one in his career. It was arguably one of the first times he has shown the tactical awareness needed to start in a deeper role, combined with the flair and quality he is encouraged to exhibit when playing further forward.
Against the Posh, Foden was City's playmaker in the absence of Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva. His two assists were key to winning the game, and the second of those was especially eye-catching as he found the run of Jack Grealish from the halfway line to the edge of the area with a pinpoint lofted through-ball right onto the foot of Grealish.
The pair had been watching videos of Lionel Messi before the game, Grealish revealed, and Foden's ball had shades of Andres Iniesta or Xavi who regularly played quarterback for the Argentine at Barcelona.
In total, Foden made four key passes, including those two assists. His 89 per cent pass accuracy certainly helped things tick, while his joint-high of four dribbles helps drive City on against a stubborn opposition. He even popped up with two shots and two crosses, two through-balls and five long balls.
It was an all-round performance that Guardiola will have been looking for from him, as his heatmap showed he occupied most the area usually occupied by De Bruyne on the right side area of central midfield midway between the halfway line and Peterborough box.
His performance adds to a growingly impressive record when starting in midfield. This was his 22nd start in midfield, with 11 goals and five assists to his name in those times. Many have admittedly come against lower league opposition in the cups or in less-important fixtures in the Champions League, but Foden has to learn his future role somehow.
This season alone, he has started twice now in midfield, with one goal and four assists in those games, added to five previous goals from midfield in eight cup outings 2019/20 before Guardiola's comments about his move to the wings.
Foden's assist for Grealish echoed his assist for England - also from midfield - at Andorra when he found the run of Bukayo Saka from a similar position. Again, this was a lower standard of opposition and he has been used out wide against a higher level, but it bodes well that he is performing well whenever he is dropped back to a deeper role.
Guardiola predicted that Foden would be ready for midfield by the time he is 24. At his current rate, that timeframe may have to be fast-tracked.
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