Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden‘s season so far has far has been a mixed bag of results. Despite having 7 goals and 3 assists in 25 PL appearances, injuries throughout the season have made it difficult for him to consistently appear across all leagues. In City’s 3 -1 victory over Newcastle in the 5th round of the FA cup, Foden was substituted in the 80th minute of the game.
During the game, a photo of Foden has been collecting quite a bit of attention on X. The picture shows Phil Foden embracing Nigel Gleghorn, a coach to Phil Foden during his u14 days at the Manchester City Academy. The picture has brought glee to a lot of fans, with many commenting under the photo on X, expressing their satisfaction over high profile players remembering their childhood mentors. Nigel was reportedly working for a local radio outlet covering when the interaction took place
Lovely photo from Saturday as @PhilFoden reunites with his #ManCity U14 coach (& former player) Nigel Gleghorn who was working for local radio.
— Mike Minay (@MikeMinay) March 9, 2026
Kieran Trippier often references Steve Eyre in progress stories – great to see stars of the game not forgetting who helped shape them. pic.twitter.com/Xaj2gCxhK5
Nigel Gleghorn coached Foden at the Manchester City youth academy in the mid 2000’s when Foden entered the academy as a 4 year old, and was a central figure in his early developement till he was part of the U-14 squad. Nigel is credited with identifying Foden’s talent at a very young age, appearing on the Forever Blue podcast hosted by Ian Cheese in 2022, Nigel said about working with Foden that –
“Phil Foden was a special player and I did say on the BBC that Phil Foden could be mentioned in years to come in the same breath as the likes of Ronaldo and Messi. For me, he is that special”.
When asked about what made Foden so effective, Nigel further said, –
“He threatens behind and if you drop, he’ll come get it and get it short and play on the half turn and then feed people in and get himself in the box. He’s just a fantastic player.”
When asked about his relationship with Foden currently, Nigel simply said – “one of my protégés is bearing real fruit”
Nigel Gleghorn is an ex-City man himself, having played for the blues in the 1988-89 season. The central midfielder played a huge part in ensuring promotion for City that season, so much so that in the promotion deciding game against Arsenal, he scored the first goal and also was forced to be the goalkeeper when Andy Dibble collapsed with a groin injury. He made a crucial save against Mark Bright, helping City gain promotion by winning 2-1.
The firemen turned footballer began his career at Ipswich Town, following which he played for Manchester City, Birmingham City, and Stoke City, finally ending his career at Burnley.
After retiring Gleghorn took on a variety of coaching and management roles. He coached a plethora of youth teams across England, including coaching NVQ level two and three teams at Trafford College, Manchester. It is likely that Gleghorn was introduced to Foden during one of his various coaching stints in and around Manchester.
