Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden named Premier League Young Player of the Season; Declan Rice, Mason Mount among those who were in consideration to win award.
Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden has been named the Premier League’s Young Player of the Season for the second year running.
Foden, who won the award in 2020/21, has already matched his return of the previous campaign, registering nine goals and five assists while growing in importance for the team under manager Pep Guardiola.
Still only 21, Foden missed the opening month of the campaign with a foot injury but he returned to underline his huge potential to beat off competition from Chelsea’s Mason Mount and West Ham’s Declan Rice.
“I am very proud to have won this award for a second season in a row. There are so many talented young players in the Premier League and it is a real honour to win it again,” said Foden.
Guardiola spoke earlier this month about how there was no reason why his playmaker couldn’t continue improving in the coming years.
“For Phil, responsibility is not a problem. Since day one going to bigger stages, bigger scenarios and important games, it’s not a problem (for him). He loves to play.
“He can play in all five positions up front: winger on both sides, striker through the middle and in the pockets like an attacking midfielder.
“I think in time he will be more capable to play in positions in the middle, he still has all the actions, the high speed, so maybe now the wide positions suit him better.
“In the Academy when I started to see him at 16/17-years-old when I arrived here, he played in a position like Kevin De Bruyne and wow, he played really good but all the actions are so, so quick.
“You remember David Silva, sometimes he slowed the rhythm to increase the rhythm, (but Phil’s) rhythm is always high.
“It’s good as he is so aggressive and we need it but sometimes he needs a little bit, but that is a question of time. He can do it no problem, it’s just a question of time.”
