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Wayne Rooney has named Manchester City's Phil Foden as England's best player ahead of Cole Palmer and Jude Bellingham. The Manchester United legend said he enjoys watching Foden more than his English counterparts.
Real Madrid signed Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund last year for a reported €103 million fee. The English midfielder quickly settled into life in the Spanish capital and displayed excellent form for Los Blancos. He won the La Liga and the Champions League in his debut season at the club, recording 23 goals and 13 assists in 42 games across competitions.
Meanwhile, Palmer, who Chelsea signed from Manchester City last summer, turned out to be a revelation for the Blues. The 22-year-old scored 27 goals and provided 15 assists in 48 games across competitions, playing a crucial role in Chelsea finishing sixth in the league.
While acknowledging what Bellingham and Palmer have done for their respective clubs, Rooney insisted that Phil Foden is currently England's best player. The former Manchester United striker said (via Manchester City News):
“Foden for me. I know he hasn’t played that much this season for City but I think Phil Foden at his best, you know, he’s the best player England have got."
He added:
“I think Cole Palmer’s been sensational over the last season and the start of this season. Jude Bellingham, obviously, what he’s doing at Real Madrid. But for me, Phil Foden is the only who I really enjoy watching."
Phil Foden has made seven appearances so far this season for Manchester City, recording a goal and an assist apiece.
"We just need to find the balance" - England interim boss Lee Carsley details plans for Bellingham, Palmer, and Foden
England interim manager Lee Carsley has said he would love to use Bellingham, Palmer, and Foden together on the pitch for the Three Lions during the upcoming international break.
While others may perceive England's abundant squad depth as a problem, Carsley sees it as a fun challenge. The Three Lions boss insisted that three stars can be in the XI at the same time, provided they find the right balance.
He said (via The Independent):
“You’d try and find a way of getting them into the team. We’ve got to be creative… if they are all playing well and they all earn that place in the team. I think that’s important as well."
"I think what’s important is that we get them all on the pitch at some point and we try to find the balance because going to that Uefa conference a couple of weeks ago, a lot of the head coaches spoke about how many good players we’ve got, but they almost referred to it as a problem," he added.
“Whereas I am thinking it’s a nice problem to have! The challenge is, always, if you can pick a team to beat the opposition and getting the balance with that … it might mean that now and then one of them misses out or in terms of a tournament, it’s very rare that you start the same team every single game so it’s finding that balance," Carsley concluded.
England will face Greece on Thursday (October 10) and Finland on Sunday (October 13) in the UEFA Nations League during the international break.
