Ever since Phil Foden was dubbed the ‘next David Silva’ after his silky displays for Manchester City's EDS, he was regarded as the chosen one amongst the club's conveyor belt of talent.
As Pep Guardiola gradually blooded in the youngster, there were no shortage of sceptics that believed that the highly-rated attacker’s prodigious talent would be of much bigger use on loan in the lower leagues.
However, humble pie was in store for the critics as the Stockport-born talent has gone on to develop into one of the world’s best young players.
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Becoming a four-time Premier League champion, a staple member of the Three Lions squad and winning successive PFA Young Player of The Year's, Foden’s CV is enviable to say the least.
However, the versatile attacker is not the only gem that is expected to take the football world by storm.
Last season alone, Cole Palmer scored an impressive three goals in the Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup respectively in ten senior appearances.
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Similarly, the gifted James McAtee was handed his debuts across all four fronts as he made six first-team appearances for his boyhood club.
Ferran Soriano is one that needs no convincing about the club’s up-and-coming talents, as he went on to rave about City’s academy setup and singled out Foden for special praise.
“Phil Foden is a spectacular example of a boy that has been in our academy from when he was 10 years-old and he’s a Manchester City fan," Soriano began.
"But, if I may say, this year we won the Premier League, we won the Premier League 2, and we won the under-18s.
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"Last year, we won the three again.
"There is a long list of very good young players that have been winning with Manchester City and are coming up.
"There will be some stars there,” he commented in an episode of the Dr. Football Podcast.
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This is not the first instance in which the club CEO has given the Sky Blues’ youngsters their fair share of credit.
Recently, Soriano paid the likes of Palmer and McAtee a massive compliment by stating that the club have enough faith in their qualities not to go out in the market to bolster the positions they occupy ahead of next term.
With several reports surfacing about the pair set to have a bigger role in the upcoming season, Soriano is right in saying that the club’s academy will continue to produce gems for years on end.
Leeds United’s potential coup of City’s U18 starlet Darko Gyabi is a testament to the aforementioned claim.
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However, as expected, more and more youth talent will get the chance to learn their craft under Guardiola next season - something that must excite everyone involved.
Topics: Manchester City, Premier League, Phil Foden, Pep Guardiola
Srinivas Sadhanand