Teenage midfielder Phil Foden has signed a new five and a half year contract extension to stay at Manchester City until 2024.
Foden, 18, a lifelong City fan, has been with the Blues since the age of eight, rising through the junior ranks and Academy teams until his promotion to the senior team during the 2016/17 season when he was named as an unused substitute against Celtic.
He also rose to national attention in October 2017, scoring twice in the FIFA Under-17 World Cup final against Spain and winning the coveted Golden Ball award as England became Under-17 world champions.
The Stockport-born teenager travelled with the first team squad to the US for the pre-season tour and impressed City boss Pep Guardiola, who commented:
“It’s a long time since I saw something like this.
“His performance was another level. He’s 17-years-old, he’s a City player, he grew up in the Academy, he loves the Club, he’s a City fan and for us he’s a gift.”
He subsequently made his debut for the first team in November 2017 against Feyenoord – replacing Yaya Toure – to become the fourth youngest English player to appear in the Champions League.
He then became the youngest English player to start a Champions League game after being named in the starting line-up against Shakhtar Donetsk a month later.
He won his first silverware in last season’s Carabao Cup victory over Arsenal at Wembley and followed that with a Premier League winners medal as the youngest recipient of that honour.
And this season he started with a Community Shield win and scored his first senior goal for the club in this season’s Carabao Cup at Oxford United.
A spate of injuries to senior players in recent weeks means that Foden, who has only made two starts in Carabao Cup games this term, could get a chance in bigger fixtures starting with City’s Champions League game against Hoffenheim on Wednesday.