Borussia Dortmund using Jadon Sancho to tempt Phil Foden

Phil Foden’s rise to prominence is attracting attention from several top European sides. The likes of RB Leipzig and even Paris Saint-Germain are said to be interested in the youngster. But it is Borussia Dortmund that are making concrete efforts to land the City academy graduate.

Dortmund, according to a Mail Online report, want to add the young midfielder to their ranks. The Bundesliga side are using the success of Foden’s former teammate at both England Under-17 level and at City’s youth level as a selling point to the 18-year-old.

Foden, who was recently invited to the England Under-21 squad has seen his former teammate debut for the Three Lions after excelling in Germany. He has also expressed delight at the prospect of following him to the senior side.

With opportunities for first team football severely limited at City, Dortmund are hoping to use the lure of first team football to secure promising talents from English academies to Germany. With their chances of breaking into the first team limited, moving abroad can become irresistible, as was the case with Sancho.

Foden, for instance, has had his playing time restricted as Pep Guardiola tries to ease him into the first team, while Sancho has gone from strength to strength in the Bundesliga earning him a senior national team call-up from Gareth Southgate. He made his England debut against Croatia on Friday night.

City are hopeful Foden will sign a new contract past his current deal that runs until 2020, but it will help to give him more playing time in order to convince the young man to stay. He has demonstrated his maturity and readiness for first team football with recent performances.

He followed a good outing against Cardiff City as the Cityzens ran out 5-0 winners with another scintillating performance in the Carabao Cup. He scored his first senior goal for the club in the match against Oxford United. His celebration showed how much it meant to him.

Guardiola has promised to give him more game time and the Sky Blues boss will need to make good his promise to convince him to stay on. It also helps that Foden is a City fan through and through, and relishes the fact that he is part of a City team that is winning trophies consistently. He is already a Premier League and League Cup winner and will love to add to his medal collection.