The changing of the guard is underway
Manchester City's summer clear-out has claimed three of the club's most recognisable faces. Bernardo Silva, John Stones and Nathan Ake have all departed, leaving a dressing room that suddenly looks a lot younger — and a lot less experienced.
That reality is not lost on Phil Foden. Speaking to reporters in Seoul ahead of the friendly against the K-League All-Stars at the Seoul World Cup Stadium, the 26-year-old acknowledged that the exits have shifted the burden onto his shoulders.
“I have been in the club for so long, I am one of the last remaining players to have been here for a long time,” he said. “So I think I have to be this season, one of the leaders, one of the captains or in and around it for sure.”
The words carry weight. Foden has been at City since he was a kid, but he has rarely been the senior voice in the room. With Silva, Stones and Ake gone, that changes. He is now one of the most experienced players in the squad, and he knows it.
“I have to become a leader,” he said. “The fact that I am one of the most experienced players in the squad means I have to assume a leadership role.”
It is a role he has already started to explore. Foden captained City in their first preseason friendly against Inter Milan, a clear sign of the direction the club is heading.
“I am looking forward to that new responsibility and trying to take leadership on,” he added.
The armband against Inter may have been a one-off gesture, or it may be a preview of something more permanent. Either way, Foden sounds ready to embrace it. City's rebuild is happening, and he intends to be at its centre.