Pep has unearthed his new Yaya Toure in Man City star & it’s not Rodri

Pep Guardiola has worked with some exceptional players throughout his time in charge of Manchester City, from the likes of Sergio Aguero through to Erling Haaland.

The Spanish head coach has had the pleasure of coaching some terrific talents across the pitch in all sorts of positions, like Vincent Kompany and Ruben Dias, or Joao Cancelo and Josko Gvardiol.

He has had some simply sublime stars in the central midfield positions, in particular, and one of the best he has ever worked with has been Ivorian powerhouse Yaya Toure, who played under him at Barcelona and Manchester City.

Why Yaya Toure was important for Pep Guardiola

At both of those clubs, the midfield sensation provided a powerful and quality presence in the middle of the park with his marauding runs and technical ability.

The now-retired star made 128 appearances

in all competitions under the Spanish head coach for both clubs combined, scoring 11 goals and providing 12 assists in that time.

That return helps to show why Yaya Toure was an important player for Manchester City and Guardiola throughout his career, as he provided a threat as both a scorer and a creator from a midfield position.

The Ivorian dynamo, who produced 80 goals and 45 assists in 316 appearances for the Cityzens in all competitions, could step up with big moments to win matches for City thanks to his ability in front of goal, and Guardiola has found his new Yaya Toure in the present day.

Manchester City’s new Yaya Toure

Rodri may seem like the obvious comparison, given his height and powerful play in midfield, as well as his tendency to score in big moments – like in the Champions League final against Inter.

However, the Spain international, who is currently out with an ACL injury, is not a naturally attack-minded player, like Yaya Toure.

He has never scored more than eight goals in a single league campaign, showing that he is not a constant threat at the top end of the pitch, and that is why Phil Foden is Guardiola’s new version of the midfielder.

Former Manchester City centre-back Joleon Lescott even once compared the England international to the ex-Barcelona ace. He told the club’s official website:

“He’s exceptional wherever he plays. His debut for the first team was left-back. He loves it, and because he will play anywhere, if he plays in the middle, because he can go past people, like [former Spurs midfielder] Moussa Dembele, when he beat someone the game changed.

“Yaya Toure was the same, if you face your midfielder up and go past them, it changes the game.”

As you can see in the table above, Foden has provided a threat as a scorer and a creator of goals for the majority of his Premier League career since his breakthrough at senior level in the 2017/18 campaign.

As Lescott explained, the left-footed wizard also has the ability to breeze past opposition players, averaging 1.2 completed dribbles per game over his entire career, and he has the quality to make a difference in the final third after opening up space by beating defenders.

Therefore, whilst they are not identical as players, Guardiola has found his new version of Yaya Toure in Foden, as the Englishman is a midfielder who can take defenders out of the game with his dribbling whilst also delivering goals and assists on a regular basis.