The Sun reported earlier this month that Man City turned down attempts from both Rangers and Roma, to sign teenage starlet Phil Foden on loan.
When asked about it, Gerrard said that a swoop wouldn’t be happening, as Pep Guardiola wouldn’t let his man leave the Etihad [Sky Sports].
Judging by his performance for England U21s on Friday evening, it’s easy to see both why City want to keep him and why the Gers were apparently interested.
Reported former Rangers target Foden shows class
Foden has been bigged up by the English press for some time, but although he has a Premier League winner’s medal from last season, he hasn’t played a huge amount of senior club football. So far this term, he’s been limited to just 10 minutes of playing time for the Citizens [Transfermarkt].
Yet, there was no rustiness on show when he started a U21 European Championship qualifier away in Turkey.
After just four minutes, he burst down the left before his cross made its way through to Eddie Nketiah, who opened the scoring.
The hosts turned the game on its head with goals either side of half-time, but a moment of quality from Foden helped England restore parity in the 74th minute. His slide rule pass split an already scrambling opposition defence, to send Nketiah through for his second.
Just a minute later, Reiss Nelson got on the scoresheet too, completing the comeback and securing three points.
Man City man would have been star Ibrox turn
It’s unclear to what extent Rangers went after Foden earlier in the summer, but if Gerrard had managed to lure him to Glasgow against the odds, he would have been a brilliant addition.
The Gers faced criticism last season for an inability to break down stubborn opposition defences. That has been less of an issue so far this campaign, but as shown by this youth international display, Foden is exactly the sort of creative talent required when facing a block.
Wearing the no.10 when with England, he roams freely and has both the vision and quality to spot passes and pull them off.
Landing this teenage starlet may have been something of a pipe dream, but he’s the sort of locksmith the Gers could do with.
