Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne claims there are ‘no limits’ to what Phil Foden can achieve

Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has revealed Phil Foden is “one of the biggest talents” he’s played with and believes there are “no limits” to what the England international can achieve.

Foden, 22, has won four Premier League titles alongside De Bruyne and is on course for his best return in front of goal with seven strikes in 14 league appearances, four more than he managed after the same number of games last campaign, and two behind his best-ever tally of nine.

De Bruyne, who put in an inspiring performance on his Man City return against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup after a disappointing World Cup campaign with Belgium, believes Foden has “no ceiling”, as he continues to progress.

“He is still that young boy who just loves to play football,” De Bruyne told Man City’s club website. “Every time you see a ball running around, he is running to it.

“Sometimes it is different with other players, but he is probably one of the biggest talents that I have played with and his ceiling can be so high.”

Foden scored his first World Cup goal in Qatar for Gareth Southgate’s England side as the Three Lions failed to advance beyond the quarter-final stage.

The midfielder has been a shoo-in for the England squad over the last few seasons after proving himself domestically, but could only manage one start in the middle east as he was brought on as a sub three times.

De Bruyne, though, believes Foden has that “little bit of magic” not all players possess, and can be whatever he wants to be over the next decade or so.

“He has already won four Premier Leagues and he is 22. He is doing well for himself. He is very smart as a player. Where there are a lot of tactics, you still have that guy who has that little bit of magic and he is one of these guys who has that magic so he can just do a lot of different stuff.

“[He can achieve] whatever he wants. The ceiling is so high. He has already done so much at that age playing for a team like us who have to win all of the time.

“He is competing and playing most of the games. He can do that for the next 15 years if he wants to and then he can be whatever he wants.”

Man City return to Premier League action on Thursday when they travel to Leeds United.