Inter Milan wanted Phil Foden after youth tournament but he was ‘never going to leave’ beloved Manchester City

Phil Foden has become a Manchester City superstar and his love for his boyhood club is what sets him apart from the rest.

The 23-year-old has played for Man City throughout his career, going from fan to academy product to making history as a treble winner.

His talents have been known at the club since his first academic session and he was so good at youth level that he played for teams above his age group.

They would take him to tournaments across Europe and even when he wasn’t playing, spectators could see that he was going to be special.

Darren Bowman, former City academy coach and current academy manager at Lee Man FC in the Hong Kong Premier League, has seen first-hand the impact Foden has had with a ball at his feet.

Speaking exclusively to talkSPORT.com, Bowman said: “There were tournaments we took him to, just for the experience where he couldn’t play, but we wanted to get him used to traveling and different environments .

“We took him to a tournament and he wasn’t there to play, so he was just having fun at halftime.

“And everyone was talking about this kid they saw at halftime and why he wasn’t playing.

“That shows you the type of star presence he had.”

It was at another youth tournament that Foden could have taken a new path away from Man City, had the club made a different decision.

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“He played another tournament and we received an offer from Inter Milan to buy him,” Bowman revealed.

“We were in Italy and they were asking us, ‘How much do you want?’

“There is always interest and offers for players like that. You need to make sure you retain your best talent and keep them on the path.

“For someone like Phil, he was never going to leave. He’s a City fan, he was a City ballboy, he’s City through and through and he’s not interested in any other club.

“Phil was well known in the UK and Europe because of his standard, but there was no chance he would leave the club or the club would ever let him leave.”

Foden is now one of the key members of Pep Guardiola’s squad, putting up career-best numbers in the Premier League and Champions League.

His growth is entirely due to his beloved Man City, whose easy choice to keep him as a youngster led him to become one of the best in the world.