Foden’s Flexibility: A Gift or a Curse?

With his abilities being touted by Pep Guardiola as second to only Lionel Messi, one of the most gifted players England has ever produced, Phil Foden is undoubtedly one of the most gifted players England has ever produced. However, his potential and future position has been a talking point in English football since he burst onto the scene as a teenager. The “death of the ‘10’” has been a recurring topic in recent footy debates as well, with many star-quality players failing to fulfill their potential in the last decade. Fans and critics alike have outlined Foden as one such player unable to achieve his full potential due to the non-existence of this role. In welcoming back our friend and writer Sury, we’ve decided to explore players like Foden that have adapted to this death, and we attempt to make sense of Phil Foden’s best position and role.

Many have spoken of Phil as the ‘successor’ to David Silva, who Foden himself considers his favorite city player. Both being left footed, elegant on the ball, and able to change the game with their creativity. Football has, however, changed a lot in the last 10 years. Throughout a large period of David Silva’s tenure, 10’s such as himself were consistently some of the best players in the league - from Mata and Fabregas, to Ozil and Eriksen, followed by Coutinho, Oscar and even Dele Alli. The role has since seen a dip in prevalence. The biggest problem with the 10 was that it made the team far too reliant on one player to do a multitude of things, whether it was dribbling through defenses, playing the final pass or scoring the goals. 10s were expected to control and change the game; this meant that when your 10 failed to perform, your chances of winning were slim. While it reigned supreme in the past with players such as Kaka, Ronaldinho and Zidane being the best in the world, eventually the game and statistics have proven that it’s much more rational to split this responsibility among several players. For example, Manchester City’s centurions saw David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne in partnership, with one doing more of the infiltrating into dangerous areas and the other providing final passes and taking shots. The two in tandem racked up over 44 goal contributions in the 2017/18 league season as the fulcrum of the most dominant side in Premier League history, causing a shift in style across English football influenced by Pep Guardiola. 

However, a large number of players have adapted to other positions, and continued to flourish following the death of the 10. Foden in particular has the ability to play in a number of positions and could potentially replicate their success. Examples of this are:

As an 8:

Similar to Centurions David Silva and Chelsea Fabregas, a playmaking 8 would dribble through midfield pressure and drive forward to create chances, but would not be heavily involved in goal scoring. Rodri has outlined Phil’s ability to receive the ball with his back to goal and get past opponents with speed as his best quality.

As an outside winger:

Another option is as a wider player like Ryan Giggs and Bruno Fernandes (on occasion), racking up assists by playing the ball into the box from the side favoring their foot, but also contributing to build up as an extra midfielder and occasionally goalscoring, Foden excelled in this kind of position between 2020-2022, with two excellent UCL campaigns racking up 8 goal contributions in the knockout stages.

As an inside winger:

Many of the most dangerous players of the last decade have been inside wingers, from Messi, Ronaldo and Neymar to Salah and Mbappe. Foden played in this position in the 22/23 season, scoring 11 goals and assisting 6 across 22 starts. This was his best ever goal scoring season, showcasing the potential effectiveness of an inside winger.

Over the course of his career, Foden has seemingly been employed by Pep Guardiola wherever the team has needed holes plugged. Leroy Sane and David Silva’s departure prior to the 19/20 season saw Foden flourish on the left side. Two years later, Grealish began to succeed and Raheem Sterling had been sold, so Foden was moved over to the right. Now with Mahrez having left and De Bruyne being injured, Foden has been playing both on the wings and in midfield this season. Let us be clear - this versatility and adaptability is part of what makes him such an incredible player. He doesn’t need ‘one’ position to thrive and succeed. The constant arguments over his best position and the reason it’s so difficult to pinpoint is because it seemingly doesn’t exist. Capable of playing across the pitch at the highest level, Foden’s position is simply on the field. 

That said, there are two players in particular that Foden has the potential to reimagine and innovate upon. Antoine Griezmann and Thomas Muller land on opposite ends of a spectrum, with Griezmann capable of playing everywhere instead of the 10 and Muller managing to remain one of the only world class 10s in modern football. Both are the kind of players we believe Foden can become. There are glimpses of Muller’s playstyle within Foden, looking at his assist to De Bruyne against Atletico in 22/23, assist to Haaland against Arsenal and assist to Alvarez against Madrid last season. Playing just outside the box and breaking the defensive line with excellent ball control, vision and decision making, that’s Muller’s bread and butter. Alternatively, he’s also shown his ability as an all-phase game-runner like Griezmann, dribbling through the middle of the pitch, assisting goals, executing set pieces and finishing chances. In an ideal world, Foden can hone his abilities to be able to play like a combination of these players. Capable of changing the game with just a few touches of the ball, or contributing to every segment of play.

Written by: Sury

Edited by: Sheikh