Yaya Toure: Phil Foden can become one of the top players

Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure

Thursday Nov 23, 2017. 12:00

Ivory Coast legend Yaya Toure believes Manchester City youngster Phil Foden has the potential to become a great player.

The England U-17 star, who played a leading role in their age-group World Cup triumph, made his official debut for City in a Champions League win at Feyenoord on Tuesday night.

Toure, who featured for 75 minutes in the match, believes Foden is at exactly the right club to be groomed into an exceptional player.

“If he stays in this club, he is going to be one of the top players because it's always good to learn from and be close to the big players," Toure said.

“When I was at Barcelona, I learned a lot. I was lucky enough to have a chance to win trophies because of the players around me.

“It's fantastic for him and he's going to be the future. He's very important. The team keeps changing and the club are moving forward, so it's very important [to bring players through]. I hope, and I think, he will stay for a long time.

“Sometimes you have great players coming because Man City is such a strong team - a powerful club who can buy players - but I think he must stay here and learn from the big players, like [David] Silva, Kevin [De Bruyne], [Ilkay] Gundogan, Fernandinho – all those players are going to give him more experience and confidence for the rest of his career.

“I hope we will see a great player in the future."