Pep Guardiola tells rising star Phil Foden not to try to mirror Kevin De Bruyne for Manchester City

ByEurosport

Published 24/01/2021 at 10:21 GMT

The young England star Phil Foden sparked Manchester City's comeback to beat Cheltenham Town 3-1 in the fourth round of the FA Cup. The midfielder scored their leveller on 81 minutes and will be a key player for a side who are likely to be sidelined for between four and six weeks on account of a hamstring injury

Pep Guardiola has called on Phil Foden to carry on the path he is on and not attempt to become Kevin De Bruyne.

City were rocked by the news that De Bruyne would likely be sidelined for between four and six weeks on account of a hamstring injury.

The loss of De Bruyne for a key stage in the season is a blow - he is likely to miss games with West Brom, Sheffield United, Burnley, Liverpool, Tottenham, Arsenal, Borussia Monchengladbach, and West Ham - but manager Guardiola has plenty of options to fill in for his creative superstar.

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The likes of Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan will come to the fore, as will rising star Foden.

The youngster sparked City's comeback in their FA Cup fourth-round win over Cheltenham, and Guardiola wants him to continue on the path he is on at present.

“We have the players,” Guardiola said when asked if he was confident they could cope without De Bruyne.

Phil has to be Phil and not be Kevin De Bruyne because there is only one Kevin De Bruyne.

"He needs to keep doing what he has been doing in terms of when we are in a bad moment or when we are losing in terms of what he gave to the game.

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“Gundo is a player who can assist or has the sense to score a goal, and with Phil, Riyad [Mahrez] and Joao [Cancelo] they have the quality for the extra pass.”

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