Phil Foden Praises Rising Star Nico O’Reilly at Manchester City

Manchester City’s Phil Foden has expressed his admiration for young teammate Nico O’Reilly, describing the academy graduate as someone who has already shown the potential to become a top-level player.

In a season that didn’t meet expectations for City, 20-year-old O’Reilly emerged as a standout performer. Despite being a natural midfielder, he adapted well to playing out of position at left-back, earning Pep Guardiola’s trust and contributing to squad balance. His inclusion allowed Josko Gvardiol to shift into central defence, a move that proved crucial.

Although City recently invested £31 million to sign Rayan Ait-Nouri, O’Reilly’s determination and flexibility may continue to earn him opportunities, particularly as part of the squad heading to the United States for the Club World Cup. He will be eager to impress in his preferred midfield role during the tournament.

Foden, who knows firsthand the challenges of rising through the academy to break into a star-studded City team, highlighted O’Reilly’s professionalism and humility on the training ground as key strengths.

“He’s got a brilliant attitude – really down-to-earth and never gets ahead of himself,” said Foden. “He’s someone I notice in training because he’s so eager to learn and improve.”

“You can see he watches the senior players closely, learning how they carry themselves and taking lessons from them. At City, players only get selected when they truly deserve it, and Nico absolutely earned his chance.”

“Even though he’s been asked to play left-back, which isn’t his natural position, he’s handled it impressively. That speaks volumes about his work ethic and physical presence. He’s definitely one to watch.”

Foden himself played a starring role when City last won the Club World Cup in 2023, with victories over Urawa Red Diamonds and Fluminense in Saudi Arabia. Now 25, Foden says the team is motivated by the opportunity to become the first winners of the newly-expanded 32-team tournament.

“We’ve talked about it as a group – the idea of being the first team to lift this new version of the trophy is definitely on our minds,” he said. “With the quality in our squad, we believe we’re capable of achieving it. We’re excited and ready for the challenge.”