Man City's Phil Foden names Chelsea's N'Golo Kante as his toughest opponent

Phil Foden has named Chelsea's midfield dynamo N'Golo Kante as the hardest opponent he's faced in his career to date.

The young Englishman has the world at his feet after a stellar breakthrough season at Manchester City, notching up 15 goals and 10 assists across all competitions.

From being a starlet who many believed needed to leave the Etihad in search of regular first-team football, Foden has turned into one of Pep Guardiola's key players this campaign which has so far seen City win the Premier League and Carabao Cup.

When asked about his career so far, and specifically his toughest opposition player, Foden told Sky Sports: ‘It’s probably the most obvious one but (N'Golo) Kante, man!

‘He’s just everywhere. You think you’ve got away from him and he’s just always by your side so I would probably say him.

‘He does everything, he runs everywhere, he’s such a great player so I’d probably say he’s my toughest opponent I’ve played against.

‘He’s a great player.’

Foden faced Kante in the FA Cup semi-final, in which the Blues came out on top, and they will likely line up against each other again in the Champions League final on 29 May.

Foden also lifted the lid on his infamous post-match conversation with Borussia Dortmund's Erling Haaland after City's 2-1 first leg victory in the Champions League quarter-final.

With Haaland strongly linked with a £150million-plus move to the Etihad this summer, speculation was rife that Foden was pitching the benefits of a move to Manchester to the 20-year-old Norwegian superstar.

But Foden revealed the conversation was more straightforward.

‘We were just talking about (the fact) he obviously missed a few chances in that game,’ Foden said.

‘It was just a chat in general about the game and the result so it was nothing too special.

‘A lot of people thought it was about other things but it was just about the game in general.’

Foden could not contain his excitement at the upcoming Champions League final, nor his disbelief at how quickly it has come in his burgeoning career.

‘It’s crazy. My mum and dad would always say to me that I’d be playing in a Champions League final one day but they didn’t think it would happen so soon,' he said.

‘I’m just hoping they can make the final and hopefully if we win we can celebrate together.

‘I didn’t believe it would happen so soon. I’m only 20, I thought it would have taken longer to reach the top.

‘But I work hard every day to get to the top. I just want to keep going now and keep setting my standards even higher.’