Foden is the most overhyped and overrated English player I can remember
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I think thatās unfair, he drove them to the title last year.
Think city have stunted his growth a bit though, heās 24 now and hasnāt ever been given a permanent spot in the team.
Not having a good season but still 7 goals in 20 PL apps and heās by far the most technically skilful player England has.
Heās a bit of a cunt but a very good player.
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Wait till you see Dowman. Hale end has been cooking in recent years.
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Saka and Nwaneri on wings in Champions League Final. Tasty
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Best of the lot for his age. Probably another 3 years before we see him though.
Alright so here are my thoughts, would love to hear others thoughts too.
I argued that Ethan is by far the greatest youngster to come through the ranks and specially outlined that he has the same aura as 17 year old Cesc did. Indicating, Ethan is the better talent than Cesc during their break through season.
Now letās put some things into context.
Football as decades gone by has become more evolved and far more intelligent, more tactical and less free flowing like the spaces we once use to see. Low block football, players no longer having a āfree roleā and instead having a systematic role, as well as offensive players having to defend, has made football much harder for players. Furthermore, with so much money around, mid and low clubs are able to sign better players and are far more competitive than clubs of such level couple of decades back. Finally, Artetaās philosophy and policy is far more āstrictā in terms of freedom of play and giving youngsters an easy route to the first team than Wenger did. This scene Iāve mentioned, makes Ethanās breakthrough and adaption even more impressive.
Stats wise, Ethan has already surpassed Fabregas in the breakthrough season. 7 goals and 1 assist, this includes CL and PL. And you know what I find insane? Heās achieved this feat below 800 mins. That is incredible especially when you compare it to the current best youngster in the world Mr Yamal:
https://x.com/sofascoreint/status/1886123005429911771?s=46
Thatās my argument and I still stand by the statement that Ethan is the greatest talent to come through the ranks. He is that guy. Embrace it. What is most impressive about him, is his willingness to get the ball and make something happen. He can cut inside and curl it, or go outside as shown yesterday. I think right now heās limited at RW. He is a player you want in the #10 role. Either way, glad how his development is going and barring serious injuries, his ceiling level potential wise is HUGE.
Skelly, Saka, Ethan and Dowman. You want to build your side around these players.
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He is very, very impressive and heās on course to be what you say he is. Things can change but looking at it now itās hard to suggest heās anything other than a serious talent.
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People need to pump the breaks a bit on Dowman. Fantastic talent but he has hardly played U21 football at this point. It would be a dream if heās as good as Nwaneri in a couple years but itās a very uncertain road from U18 to senior level.
Joe Cole compared him with Messi. Massive take.
Yups, fans do tend to overhype their own players - but the numbers are speaking for themselves. 17-18 year old kids shouldnāt be able to breakthrough into the first-time of championship winning teams so easily. Unless they were really, that good.
And all the signs point to Nwaneri having the potential and capability to get to that level. He hit the post a few times yesterday didnāt he?
Perhaps the Saka injury as much as itās hurt us, has massively helped Nwaneri; he wouldnāt be seeing the light of day if not for Sakaās absence.
Now thatās you call taking your moment. Other young players should look to Ethan and Bukayo as examples of how to operate when youāre given your moment.
Make it difficult for the manager, give him a reason to keep you in his head during team selections.
Getting players to deliver the output shown from Nwaneri so far will easily set you back Ā£60m minimum in todayās market.
Also this is a great thing for England too, the futureās bright.
I canāt get on board with saying Ethan is a bigger talent than Cesc at the same age.
Huge talent, love the kid and think heāll be a superstar but not better than Cesc at this age sorry.
Different skill set between Cesc and Ethan which makes them hard to compare but Iām seeing them on the same level at their ages.
Ethan is far stronger and faster but Iād argue from harsh experience that you need to be a better all-rounder if youāre in the middle of the pitch when youāre 17.
There doesnāt need to be any recriminations about how Nwaneris development has played out.
Could he have played a little more, probably.
Would that have made any difference? maybe, maybe not. Zero guarantees and letās just use the Bournemouth game as an example, Iām not sure Messi would have turned that around for us.
Hes been fully introduced now and he looks capable of contributing every time he takes the field. Just want that to continue in whatever format it takes, especially these next few weeks.
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Really looking forward to see how he does in the next few games now if he gets a proper run(hopefully his fitness allows that).
Unknown factor will not be there for long and the teams we play next will prepare better on how to stop him.
You canāt stop Messi jr
Nwanadonna.
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In terms of style of play, Iād say Ethan is a combination of Greenwood and Nasri. I can see the similarities with Foden too.
Thing is, weāll have a better idea when he has a #10 role in the squad; right now heās limited on the right. Either way, unique profile.