Where does Fede Valverde rank among the best young midfielders in the world right now?

2. Phil Foden

The player in second who makes our list is British International and Manchester City attacking midfielder, Phil Foden.

The 22-year-old is one of the best talents to ever come out of the Manchester City academy and under the experienced guidance of Pep Guardiola, he is a superstar for the future.

In 2017, Guardiola described Foden as “a special player“, saying:

"“It’s dangerous to say good things about young players because they are still young, and they have to grow and they have to learn many, many things… But we have a lot of confidence to help him, because we believe he is a guy who has potential, even if he’s not strong, he’s not tall.”"

Yes, Phil Foden is not your usual midfielder who contributes both in attack and defence but he’s something far better than that with his lethal attacking instincts and menacing runs from the back.

For Man City, he is often deployed as a winger but dominates the midfield quite exuberantly and remarkably suits Pep’s style of play having its base in excellent team chemistry and systematic possession.

For England’s youth ranks, he has shown tremendous individual prowess while being a team player. Foden’s distinctive performances in the U-17 FIFA World Cup in India topped off with his two goals in the final against Spain made him one of the most exciting prospects of the generation.

The Catalan mastermind, Pep Guardiola, says that Foden is in his ‘developing’ period and that is the reason why he experiments with him as a false nine, winger and in his natural position as a midfielder. We have seen prospects break out (sometimes quite ‘extensively’) under Pep and no doubt, Phil Foden is on that list.