Phil Foden told he's like Real Madrid legend Zinedine Zidane as Jamie Carragher invokes The Beatles when deciding whether Jude Bellingham is better than Man City superstar

Liverpool legend Carragher believes Foden has similarities with Zidane and that while Bellingham is a "phenomenon", the 23-year-old is England's "most naturally-gifted footballer". The Sky Sports pundit invoked the Beatles when contrasting the two prodigious talents.

In a column for TheTelegraph, Carragher said: "The highest praise I can offer is whenever I watch Foden and see that first touch, control and balletic movement in tight spaces, the first players who spring to mind are Zinedine Zidane and Andres Iniesta."

He added: "There is a comparison to be made with Jude Bellingham, who heads to this year’s European Championship regarded as one of the best players in the world, a possible Ballon d’Or winner if Real Madrid win the Champions League, and the man who most England fans believe [Gareth] Southgate should build his team around.

"Bellingham is a phenomenon, yet for me Foden is England’s most naturally-gifted footballer. I know how that will be taken by those cherry-picking parts of this column. To suggest Foden is a ‘better player’ will be made to sound like a criticism of Bellingham. It is far from it. You can prefer John Lennon’s songs to Paul McCartney’s and still admire the genius of both."

Both Bellingham and Foden have had superb seasons so far, with the former scoring 23 times and bagging 12 assists for Real Madrid, and the latter has found the net 25 times and turned provider on 11 occasions for City. As Carragher puts it, the challenge is getting these dangermen into England's starting XI as they try to win their first major trophy since the 1966 World Cup.

Carragher outlined how both players can play alongside one another for the upcoming Euros.

He continued: "The dilemma for Southgate is how to get the best from him and Bellingham at the same time, so we can avoid a rerun of the Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard debate. A midfield trio of Foden, Bellingham and Declan Rice sounds ultra-ambitious, but it can work, especially if Southgate uses a hybrid full-back moving into the centre as most top sides now do. You’re not telling me that England’s group opponents demand two holding, defensive midfielders.

"Bellingham has the physicality to help Rice when needed, so as to facilitate Foden playing inside. Alternatively, Foden playing on the left and drifting inwards is no different to his role at City when De Bruyne plays. The issue then is England’s lack of a natural left-back to get up and down the pitch, should Luke Shaw be unavailable. Whatever the set-up, picking Foden and Bellingham should never have been seen as a ‘problem’. With two of the best players of this – and any – England generation, the focus must be on how exciting it will be finding a solution."

Before Foden and Bellingham turn out for England next month, the former will try to lead City to another FA Cup success when they take on bitter rivals Manchester United on Saturday. Bellingham, on the other hand, may feature for Madrid against Real Betis on the same day in La Liga, before lining up against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final on June 1.