Bellingham and Foden: Legit
The talk around Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund was all around Erling Haaland - However it was two young English guys that took all of the headlines.
Today we’ll take a mini deep-dive into their stats this season.
Headline Stealing
Erling Haaland was the name on everyone’s lips heading into the quarter final tie between City and BVB.
If you haven’t been keeping up to date, City are in the race to sign Haaland (should he move).
Let’s just say it didn’t go to plan…
Sure, Haaland’s dud of a few games is a tad over stated (he played a part in all Dortmund goals, but 5 touches in the opponent’s penalty box over 180 minutes is half of what you’d like to see), with Haaland failing to find the back of the net, it was Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham that made headlines.
Both players scored over the tie - and shitty refereeing in the first leg aside, both should have scored in both legs.
I know there’s a lot of hype around the two guys for a few reasons:
They’re English
They’re young and play for great sides
They’re English
They made headlines at a super-young age, Bellingham was a talent for Birmingham and was the talk of the Championship last season, whereas Foden had been one to watch for City for a few years
Did I mention that they’re English
They’re not just hype merchants though - Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham are fucking legit.
Phil Foden
As a Manchester City fan, I’ve been keen on Foden for quite a while now - so my views are extremely biased here.
But that in mind, he’s absolutely killing it.
Phil Foden was always the “Pep needs to play him more” guy. However, his minutes went up every season.
Keep in mind, he’s only 20, so we’re talking about people complaining that a 17-18 year old isn’t a starter on one of the best teams on the planet.
I think it’s now safe to say that Guardiola’s methods of bringing Foden into the side at City has worked (in other news, fans on Twitter don’t know more about managing soccer teams than Pep Guardiola - who know?).
And it’s paying off this season. Let’s check out Foden’s underlying numbers and see how he stacks up against other attacking mids using FBRef.
As you can see, Foden is absolutely elite for his position when it comes to getting touches in the penalty box, receiving progressive passes, progressive carries… actually, pretty much all attacking stats. It’s only really his progressive passing and shot-creating actions that are middle of the table - which makes sense when you look at his teammates.
Personally, and again pointing out my bias, I think Phil Foden is maybe the third best prospect in the game right now. Throughout my time writing about the sport I’ve tried to avoid talking about Phil Foden - and when I do, I’ve been understating my thoughts on him. Not to mislead, but because I didn’t want to jinx him (not to mention I’m well aware that my City fandom clouds my judgement).
I’ve been trying to keep a lid on it all. But now…
The.
Lid.
Is.
Off.
Jude Bellingham
Jude Bellingham became a pretty well known name around the traps when he started playing well as a 16-year-old in the Championship.
And he really made a name for himself when he was signed by Dortmund.
And he really really made a name (and meme) for himself when his old club, Birmingham City retired his jersey after the transfer.
My quick thoughts on that:
It’s his boyhood club and he managed to go from playing Championship football to being the most expensive 17-year-old player ever
The club was well and truly screwed financially - selling Jude Bellingham basically saved the club
Who cares…
It was reported that Bellingham was basically going to red-shirt this season, get used to life in Germany, his teammates, and then maybe make a few appearances towards the end of the season if the opportunity arose.
That lasted about a week and then the reports were like “shit… he might actually start round one”.
Now the reports are “he’s probably their best midfielder”.
Such a rise. It’s crazy when you think about it.
And like before, let’s have a quick look at his underlying numbers compared to other guys in his position this season.
As you can see, a typical DM here but one that gets in the box a bit more than usual.
SmarterScout suggest that Bellingham’s playstyle (frequency of certain actions) at the moment is similar Weston McKennie, Emre Can, Adrien Rabiot, peak Victor Wanyama, and Xeka.
Whilst that isn’t a massive list of relevant hobby names - however it’s important to remember that Bellingham is only a teen - and one that wasn’t expected to be a feature of BVB this season. I can see him getting a lot better, and as his passing range opens up, I think he’ll be an even better player as time goes on.
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