Yaya Toure Backs Wonderkid Phil Foden to 'Be the Future' at Manchester City
Yaya Toure has heaped praise onto 17-year-old Phil Foden after the youngster came off the bench to replace the Ivorian in Manchester City's Champions League victory over Feyenoord.
England's star of the U17 World Cup, in which the Three Lions lifted the trophy with a 5-2 victory over Spain in the final, just made a cameo appearance for the Citizens on Tuesday.
However, Toure has seen enough of the midfielder to know he's 'going to be the future' of Manchester City.
"If he stays in this club, he is going to be one of the top players because it’s always good to learn from and be close to the big players," Toure told the Manchester City website.
"When I was at Barcelona, I learned a lot. I was lucky enough to have a chance to win trophies because of the players around me.
"It’s fantastic for him and he’s going to be the future.
"He’s very important. The team keeps changing and the club are moving forward, so it’s very important [to bring players through].
"I hope, and I think, he will stay for a long time.
"Sometimes you have great players coming because Man City is such a strong team - a powerful club who can buy players - but I think he must stay here and learn from the big players, like [David] Silva, Kevin [De Bruyne], [Ilkay] Gundogan, Fernandinho – all those players are going to give him more experience and confidence for the rest of his career."
Manchester City fans are rightly excited about their 17-year-old midfielder. However, opportunities will be limited at the Etihad Stadium and Foden could be tempted to follow his former teammate, Jadon Sancho, out the exit door in search of first-team football.
