Is His Price Tag All Bluff? Foden Lost Again, Goalless and Assist-less in Euro Cup, a Disgrace to the Premier League MVP Title

After a month-long battle, the Euro Cup final arrived as scheduled. Oyarzabal scored the decisive goal in the 86th minute, successfully defeating England and securing Spain’s fourth European summit. Besides Bellingham and Kane, Foden has also been heavily criticized. As the current Premier League MVP, the Manchester City prince delivered an embarrassing performance of zero goals and assists over six matches.

As an outstanding product of the Manchester City youth training system, Foden showed potential for success right from the start. Playing for Manchester City, he accumulated an impressive 17 titles in just five years. In the 22/23 season, Foden helped Manchester City achieve a treble, tasting the joy of lifting the Champions League trophy for the first time. Although Manchester City was halted in the quarter-finals of the following 23/24 season, they accomplished an unprecedented four consecutive Premier League titles. Foden excelled with 27 goals and 12 assists, surpassing top stars like Rodri, De Bruyne, Palmer, and Haaland to claim his first Premier League MVP title.

However, Foden failed to replicate his Manchester City form on the national stage. At the beginning of this tournament, he played as a left midfielder, often overlapping with Bellingham, leading to confusion on the pitch. At that time, public opinion blamed Bellingham for hogging the spotlight, running around the field and occupying his teammates’ space. It was seen as Southgate’s incompetence, failing to utilize Foden’s small, quick, and agile style, his adeptness at teamwork, and his excellent long-range shooting skills.

Starting from the knockout rounds, Southgate transformed the formation into a three-center-back system, moving Foden to a more familiar right attacking midfield position, which initially showed improvement. During the match against the Netherlands, he had a brilliant long-range shot, but it was cruelly denied by the post, failing to break his goal drought. In the final against the red-hot Spain, Bellingham dropped deeper, taking on more defensive, physical, and transitional duties, while Foden took on more of an attacking midfield role.

Despite having room to maneuver, Foden remained timid and directionless, unable to form a rapport with Saka, Kane, and Bellingham, playing like an outsider. Throughout the game, Foden attempted only one shot, which did not test Unai Simon, and his tally for key passes and successful dribbles were both zeros!

In contrast to Bellingham, who consistently exerted influence through defensive retreats, interceptions, and tackles, Foden was virtually invisible. As the saying goes, comparison highlights differences. Kane scored three goals in this Euro Cup, Saka contributed with one goal and one assist, Bellingham with two goals and one assist, and Palmer, despite not starting once, still managed one goal and one assist, scoring in the final.

Even regular substitutes Watkins and Ivan Toney made contributions; the former scored the winning goal against the Netherlands, helping England reach the final. What about Foden? Six matches without a goal or an assist, considering his staggering valuation of £150 million, labeling him a flop wouldn’t be far off.

Seeing Foden struggle so much, fans are even more impressed by Guardiola’s prowess; half of his value can be attributed to the coach’s influence. Once away from Manchester City, the so-called Premier League MVP is merely a product of the system.