Expert: Man City could now pull Phil Foden contract U-turn as legal issue emerges
Man City could think twice before offering new contracts to unvaccinated stars like Phil Foden.
That is the view of medical expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in injury and data analysis.
As relayed by the Daily Mail last Sunday (17 July), Foden has not joined City on their pre-season tour of the United States as he did not meet the legal entry requirements.
The 22-year-old’s vaccination status is unknown, but it has been confirmed that many Premier League players have missed similar overseas tours because they are un-jabbed.
Per the Daily Star earlier this month (9 July), Foden has agreed in principle to a new six-year contract worth £200,000-a-week.
But the deal has not yet been announced and Dinnery suggests that City will consider the forward’s vaccination status before making their final decision.
“It’s certainly in the conversation when it comes to identifying transfer targets and renewing contracts,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“If we cast our minds back to December, the likes of Jurgen Klopp were fairly vocal when he said he wouldn’t consider signing any unvaccinated players.
“That mindset may have changed and the virus continues to split off into different variants. But it is being held in the same regard as a player’s injury record when it comes to recruitment.
“We always talk about availability. You can’t overstate the importance of that. If Covid is impacting that, it needs to be in the conversation.”
John Stones and Ilkay Gundogan have also missed City’s tour of the US.
The trio are currently with City’s development side in Croatia.
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