5 days ago
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Manchester City playmaker Phil Foden is integral to Pep Guardiola's plans but his contract is approaching its final 18 months.
Pep Guardiola would like Phil Foden to spend all of his career at Manchester City - but could not shed any light over whether the player will be offered a new deal. The 25-year-old has just 18 months remaining on his current contract and an agreement is not thought to be close.
Foden showed exactly what he can bring to the team with a brace on Saturday against Leeds that included the first and last goal of the game, and he has been integral to Guardiola's plans since September. Having emerged as a 16-year-old at the end of the manager's first year in Manchester, the playmaker is now one of the longest-serving at the Etihad.
That would continue if a new deal can be agreed, although the longer his current contract is allowed to run the more uncertainty that builds. If nothing is agreed by the end of next summer, City could risk losing Foden on a free transfer.
"I have no idea, but hopefully he can stay all his career here. He is a special player," said Guardiola. "He's a Man City fan for the academy. So, no doubts about that. But I don't know [about] him, his agent and the club. I don't know."
Foden spoke after the Leeds game about his growth and maturity this season, a drive that he has to take responsibility on the pitch and be a leader. If he is to commit his long-term future to the club, a place in the captaincy group looks like an obvious step in his career.
Guardiola is open to that, but said that it needs to come from the player with all of his behaviour. "If he wants, yeah. If he wants to become, yeah," said the City boss. "But captains at the end become, from themselves, your behaviour on and off the pitch. So, it depends on him.
"On the pitch, he's always been like that. He is not a guy who talks much in the dressing room. But on the pitch, he never hides behind the scenes, behind what's going on. He always took responsibility from the day one. He always had an incredible presence on the pitch."
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