Phil Foden: Joleon Lescott says Manchester City star can 'go down as one of the greatest' if he 'maintains' level

Joleon Lescott believes we are seeing the best of Phil Foden in a more central position and insists the England international has the potential to become one of the all-time greats of the game.

Foden scored a hat-trick in a 3-1 win away at Brentford on Monday, and Lescott explained that being able to play out wide or through the centre can be both a “blessing and a curse” for the 23-year-old.

With Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland both missing chunks of City's season, Foden has played a bigger role as Pep Guardiola's men eye more trophies in the 2023/24 campaign.

“I think he [Foden] has been outstanding this season and carried the burden of having no De Bruyne and Haaland,” Lescott told TNT Sports.

“It looks like he's relished opportunities to play inside more, and have more of a deciding role in games.

“I really enjoyed watching him play in the middle. But, the blessing or curse of Phil Foden is that he is equally good in multiple positions.

“So, if you have other players that are restricted in terms of where they can play, you could put Phil in there and he would still have an effective game.

“At this moment in time, he's playing in the centre at City and he's impacting the games, but he's done that pretty much wherever he is played.

“He’s playing at a very high level; if he's able to maintain what he's doing, he’ll go down as one of the greatest.”

Two of Lescott’s former clubs – City and Everton – go head-to-head live on TNT Sports on Saturday, and Lescott feels that the siege mentality generated by The Toffees since their points deduction will be less evident at the Etihad.

“Everton are performing OK, but the results obviously haven't been as positive as they would have liked," the ex-England defender said.

"They're going have to perform well, and are still not guaranteed to get any points against City. That’s the worst thing when you play Man City, you know, you're going to have to get your best and it still might not be enough.

“A siege mentality is something that Everton has always had, and will come into play with the home games coming closer to the end of the season.

“That will spur them on. But I think the siege mentality is more apparent at home than it will be at the Etihad.”

Following Saturday’s match against Everton, City will turn their attention back to the UEFA Champions League and a last 16 first-leg clash with FC Copenhagen on February 13.

While City will be heavy favourites to progress, Lescott feels that Pep Guardiola’s side will need to manage the fervent atmosphere inside the Parken Stadium.

“It’s a tough place to go with a great atmosphere and they use that to their advantage. They’re a good team and well-organised.

“I do believe that City have enough for most teams or pretty much any team over two legs, because they average two goals a game maybe, which means you're having to score three or four.

“They will be the favourites at every stage of the competition, until the semi-finals – if they progress that far.

“That doesn't guarantee they go through, but I would like to believe they will have too much for Copenhagen.”

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