Agbonlahor hits back at Pep Guardiola after ‘strange’ Phil Foden development at Man City
It is “strange” for Pep Guardiola to claim Phil Foden is not playing well for Man City, according to Gabby Agbonlahor.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the ex-Aston Villa and England forward claimed Foden would not accept that sort of criticism from any other manager than Guardiola.
The 22-year-old has started all seven of Man City’s games this season and already has four goal contributions to his name.
He scored his second goal of the season as City beat Sevilla 4-0 in the Champions League last week (6 September) but Guardiola has questioned his recent performances.
The 51-year-old told BT Sport after the game that Foden is “not playing so good” but was remaining in the team thanks to his work rate.
“It’s a strange comment from Pep,” Agbonlahor told Football Insider correspondent Connor Whitley.
“Every game I’ve watched him in, he’s played very well. Players like Phil Foden, I’ve not seen him have a bad game. I don’t see why Pep’s saying that.
“For Gareth Southgate, Phil Foden is probably the first player on the plane, to be honest, with the way he’s playing. Look at [Bukayo] Saka, he’s not getting the goals but is playing well.
“You, as a player, probably expect it from Pep because he’s that sort of manager. If it was another manager you wouldn’t accept it.
“When you’ve got one of the best ever managers, you’ve got to respect his opinion.”
Foden has scored 47 times and provided 35 assists in 177 games across all competitions for Man City.
The 16-time England international only has two years left to run on his contract at his boyhood club.
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