Phil Foden claims to have no intention of pushing for a move away from Manchester City, with the 19-year-old still “excited” by what the future holds for him at the Etihad Stadium.
It has been suggested on a regular basis that the talented teenager may need to leave his current surroundings in order to find the game time he craves and his ongoing development requires.
Pep Guardiola is, however, a big fan of the highly-rated playmaker and says there is no chance of him sanctioning a sale.
Foden says he will not be looking for that stance to be relaxed, in January or beyond, with there a determination on his part to prove that he can nail down a role in a star-studded Blues squad.
He told Express Sport ahead of a meeting with Manchester United on Saturday: “I want to play in the derby, in a Champions League Final in Istanbul – which I believe we can. I want to play for City in big games and I want to play for England.
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“I am excited for the future so hopefully I will play regularly next year. I am so excited to see where that goes.”
Foden is considered to be the natural heir to David Silva at City and believes continuing to work with the Spanish World Cup winner can only be beneficial to his learning curve.
“I remember thinking when I made the step up from the academy on the first day of training (with the first team) I was thinking ‘How am I going to handle this?’” Foden added.
“But I fitted in quite quickly and training with such great players every day makes you better.
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“It is not what these players ‘teach’ you, it is just watching them in training and playing against the likes of Silva.
“You have to (absorb) the things he’s done really well and make sure you take something from it every day.
“I am learning from him all the time. He amazes me all the time in training still. For instance, I’m amazed he is so strong for a little guy and defends really well.”
He went on to say: “Sometimes I do get sick of people saying ‘he’s only young’ and sometimes [when I'm not picked] I show respect because this is my boyhood club and I understand where the manager is coming from.
“But I believe that I can play in big games.”
Foden also harbours of ambitions of following the likes of Jadon Sancho and Mason Mount into the senior England squad, with Under-21 level as far as the U17 World Cup winner has climbed so far.
He said: “I would obviously like to be in the England squad sooner rather than later but I can understand Gareth [Southgate] saying I haven’t played enough minutes.
“But look, I am excited for the future. I just need to take the minutes I get, show it on the pitch and in training and impress the manager, and hopefully I can get there soon.”
