Rio Ferdinand sends Phil Foden England plea to Gareth Southgate after Man City masterclass

Rio Ferdinand has insisted Gareth Southgate should take note of Phil Foden’s impact centrally ahead of Euro 2024 this summer.

Foden was in jaw-dropping form on Wednesday night as his hat-trick helped down Aston Villa 4-1 at the Etihad Stadium to keep City fighting for the Premier League title.

A free-kick and two second-half strikes saw Foden claim a hat-trick against VillaCredit: GettyAs well as scoring his first ever direct free-kick, his second-half double helped him reach over 20 goals in a season for the first time, which saw him join an illustrious crew, in his career and it was helped by the fact he was playing more central than usual.

In England’s recent friendlies against Brazil and Belgium, Southgate pushed Foden out onto both flanks but the 23-year-old could not light up the stage like he does at the Etihad.

And after Foden’s stupendous display against Villa, former Manchester United star Ferdinand has told the England boss to sit up and watch the attacking midfielder pull the strings from a central position.

Speaking to Laura Woods for TNT Sports after City’s 4-1 win, he said: “One thing I would say about him as to why he is still here doing what he is doing, he is never too high and he is never too low.

READ MORE ON PHIL FODEN”He is very balanced in his approach to certain situations and even in game and I would say out of the game as well, off the pitch, I don’t think he ever gets too overawed by situations. He doesn’t see situations too big for him.

“These actions [against Aston Villa] and we are sitting here going, ‘for the England team, surely he has got to play centrally?’

“This is the common debate at the moment: Where do you play Phil Foden to get the best out of him?

“These actions here tell you everything you need to know. Get these clips up to Gareth and say, ‘who else is doing this?'”