‘How much do you want?’ – Former Manchester City coach reveals European transfer approach for Phil Foden

Manchester City superstar Phil Foden may be at the very centre of Pep Guardiola’s masterplan today, but things could have been very different for the playmaker.

Foden is widely viewed as being the star product of Manchester City’s hugely successful City Football Academy project adjacent to the Etihad Stadium, with a number of rising stars following in his footsteps into the club’s first-team set-up.

In the years that have followed Phil Foden’s rise into the first-team Manchester City squad, Pep Guardiola has worked closely with a number of other young stars in developing their game and impact on the senior team.

Oscar Bobb and Rico Lewis are the latest young names to integrate themselves into the Etihad Stadium side in the last two seasons, however things could have been very different for the player that largely inspired their growth.

Speaking exclusively to talkSPORT, former Manchester City academy coach Darren Bowman has revealed that following an outing at a continental tournament, Phil Foden was the subject of very direct transfer attention from one of Europe’s premier clubs.

“We got an offer from Inter Milan to buy him,” Bowman revealed. “We (Manchester City) were in Italy and they were asking ‘How much do you want?’ There’s always interest and offers for players like that.”

Bowman continued, “You have to make sure you retain your best talent and keep them on the pathway. 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 throughout the UK and Europe because of his level but there was no way he was going to leave the club or the club were ever going to let him leave.”

Despite only making his first appearance for Manchester City’s senior side in the first-half of the 2017/18 season, Phil Foden has already amassed 262 appearances across all competitions, scoring 82 goals in the process.

Alongside such figures, Foden has already established himself as one of the most decorated players in Manchester City’s history, having won a total of 16 trophies including the UEFA Champions League and several Premier League titles.