‘Man City fans won’t want to hear this’: TalkSPORT pundit makes a claim that affects Foden

Trevor Sinclair has claimed that Arsenal star Bukayo Saka needs to retain his spot in the England XI against Germany, suggesting that Manchester City’s Phil Foden may be kept out of team.

England playmaker Phil Foden will be desperate to prove his worth against Germany having so far fallen short of his own expectations at the Euros.

Saka, 19, made his tournament debut in the win over Czech Republic earlier in the week as Gareth Southgate elected to leave out Man City’s 21-year-old attacker Foden due to fears over a potential suspension. 

The Arsenal attacker put in a man of the match display due to his positivity and involvement in the 1-0 victory. 

TalkSPORT pundit Sinclair has been debating the England XI ahead of the Germany showdown, and believe Saka should start over Foden.

“Bukayo Saka, what a phenomenal performance [against Czech Republic],” Sinclair told talkSPORT.

“He’s been the star at Arsenal in a pretty poor team this season, and he’s taken his opportunity.

“He’s given Southgate a real headache and I don’t think he can change it.

“People will say, ‘get Foden back in’, and Man City fans won’t want to hear this, but he’s been OK. When Saka played, he brought it.

“He was outstanding. He was determined on the ball, he was strong, he made good decisions and he made things happen.

“I don’t think Gareth can change that.”

While the season ended in Manchester City’s disappointing Champions League final loss to Chelsea, this has been a campaign to cherish for the talented 21-year-old.

Foden added further Premier League and Carabao Cup triumphs to his already impressive medal haul, with his outstanding performances for Pep Guardiola’s side seeing him named PFA Young Player of the Year.

But the City star does not believe he has shown enough of that form for England and is determined to put that right, starting with Tuesday’s eagerly anticipated last-16 tie against Germany.

“To be honest, I expect a lot more from myself but I’m not going to be too harsh,” Foden said.

“I didn’t really get involved in the games as much I would have liked. Hopefully, I can get the opportunity to play again and show what I am about. I feel like I’ve still got so much more to show this tournament.

“Like I’ve done for my club, I’ve been scoring a lot of goals and I just want to continue that form into the national team.

“And I believe that, hopefully in the next game, I can start getting involved in the goals.”

Foden hit the post early in the 1-0 win against Croatia in the Group D opener before being taken off in the second half, just as he was in the drab 0-0 draw with rivals Scotland.

The 21-year-old was left out of the 23-man squad for Tuesday’s win against the Czech Republic as he was on a yellow card, and watched a performance he felt was the Three Lions’ best to date at Euro 2020.

Asked if he was optimistic of there being more to come against Germany, Foden told UEFA: “Definitely.  I’m hoping, come the Germany game, we can just express ourselves.

“With the attackers we’ve got we can really hurt them, so hopefully we turn up. We’re as good as anyone on our day.

“Obviously, I wasn’t born when all of this rivalry was going on (with Germany).

“We’re a new team now and we want to create our own history. You can’t think too much about what’s happened in the past. We’re just going to focus on the game and create our own future.”