Phil Foden will be Man City’s Del Piero and lead promotion charge

Loyalty is a very rare characteristic in football nowadays, but nobody loves Manchester City more than Philip Walter Foden.

The academy graduate was always destined to play first-team football for the Sky Blues, but very few would have predicted what was to come for him.

At 26 years of age, Foden already has six Premier League titles, three FA Cup trophies, one Champions League and five EFL Cup wins.

Regardless of what Premier League rival fans are saying on the validity of Man City's trophies over the past 15 years, he has been there through all of it.

And with Keith Wyness, a former Premier League board member, now predicting a 50-point deduction for the Citizens' financial breaches, supporters will be praying for one more big show of loyalty.

The points deduction would almost definitely see City relegated to the Championship for the 2027-28 campaign, causing many players to jump ship.

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Players staying and fighting for promotion is not totally unheard of, though, with Jarrod Bowen doing exactly that at West Ham United.

And Alessandro Del Piero's dedication to Juventus in 2006 is also a fine example of a player putting his morals before money.

The Old Lady finished bottom of Serie A in 2005-06, being relegated for the first time since the competition was changed to what it is today.

Instead of following in the footsteps of Fabio Cannavaro, Patrick Vieira and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Del Piero decided to stay and fight, writing himself into the history books in the process.

The striker ended the 2006-07 season in Serie B as the team's top scorer, also netting the most of any player in the division.

Phil Foden could fire Man City back to the Premier League

Recent seasons have been a rollercoaster for Foden, but trusting him with firing Man City back to the Premier League may be the boost of confidence needed to regain his form.

Having been at the club since the age of eight, it is difficult to imagine him jumping ship, even under these circumstances, and even if clubs inevitably come in for his signature.

Del Piero had offers from major European clubs, but he decided to stay at Juventus. That is exactly what fans would love to see from Foden.

Of course, it's a lot to ask when he has so much more to play for in his career, but him impact in the Championship would be sensational. There's no doubt about that.