Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has no doubt Phil Foden has the capability to play at the heart of midfield.
Foden, used mostly on the wing for both club and country, has often been touted as a future central midfielder.
He has played in the role occasionally for City, including in Sunday's 4-0 hammering of Chelsea in the FA Cup.
Having struggled to get into the game when playing on the flank in City's 1-0 Premier League win at Stamford Bridge three days earlier, Foden looked sharp in a central role and capped off a sublime team move to put City 3-0 up.
Guardiola believes Foden is learning the role, as he compared the 22-year-old's ability to City great David Silva, who moved from the wing to midfield during his 10-year stint at the club.
"He can play inside, but inside you have more attributes to do more things and pay attention more because there are more people, it is not just 'I am going to press and run', it is when and where," said Guardiola ahead of City's EFL Cup tie with Southampton.
"The spaces are minor. Wider you have time but what is important is Phil has the quality to play in these small, small spaces, it is not easy to find.
"Bernardo [Silva] and David Silva can do it and Gundo goes close to the pockets of the central defenders – Phil has the quality and ability to do it.
"He is really good in small spaces, the goal he scored [against Chelsea], he is there. The action is good, the overlap from Kyle [Walker] and the right moment, the right tempo, the pass from Riyad [Mahrez], but in that moment he is there and to score a goal you have to be there.
"In that position, especially when they play five at the back it is important to have an extra player there. We maybe missed it a bit [in the draw] against Everton.
"Phil has these attributes. Of course he can play wider on both sides, he played top class in the last years playing wider but he can play in the middle."
What did the data say?
Foden had 45 touches against Chelsea, with 41 coming in open play.
That was the most he had managed in a City match since November 12, when he had 80 in a defeat to Brentford. Indeed, bar that game, the last time Foden had more touches was against Sevilla in the Champions League on November 2; he had 64 on that occasion, playing in central midfield.
Guardiola will want more creativity from the England international should he play in the role. Against Sevilla, Foden crafted three chances and had 10 touches in the opposition box – he only managed four in Sunday's game, albeit one of those was that fine finish to put the game to bed, and did not create a goalscoring opportunity.
Foden attempted 34 passes, more than only Julian Alvarez (18) of City's starters, completing 29 of those, while he won three of his six duels.
Taylor proud of 'gritty' Man City display in Hammarby victory
Gareth Taylor was pleased with how his Manchester City players handled the atmosphere against Hammarby to secure their passage into the Champions League quarter-finals.
Khadija Shaw opened the scoring in the 31st minute before Ellen Wangerheim restored parity shortly after the interval with a finish from close range.
But Shaw continued her fine start to the campaign, scoring the winner to become City's all-time top scorer in the competition, surpassing Georgia Stanway and Janine Beckie (both six).
The result saw City make it to the last eight of the competition for the first time since 2021, though the encounter was far from comfortable at the Tele2 Arena on Thursday.
Hammarby ended the contest with an expected goals (xG) total of 2.15 compared to the visitors' 1.07, despite both sides having 14 shots throughout the match.
However, City maintained their unbeaten record against Swedish sides in the competitor (W6), and Taylor was proud of his side's "gritty" display in Stockholm.
“I’m really pleased. It was about qualification for us tonight," Taylor said.
"There were a couple of ways we could do it. Obviously, we knew a point was enough, but I don’t think the players were thinking that way.
“It was a really gritty performance on a really difficult on this pitch. It probably doesn’t look like that for the viewers at home watching it.
"But it was a really lively surface and we worked so hard.
“I felt there were some areas we could control the play better. I have to give credit to Hammarby, they were really aggressive.
"The referee was on our side a little bit in the first half and maybe not in the second.
“I’m really pleased and proud of the players, they really dug in tonight. You come away from a hostile environment with a win.”
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
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