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2018/19 has been a breakthrough season for Phil Foden.

The 18-year-old went from an exciting prospect treated to late cameos in no pressure situations, to becoming a key member of Pep Guardiola's first team squad relied upon in the big games.

It started in August's Community Shield, when Foden played the full 90 minutes to help City to their first silverware of the season. It was an accomplished performance against a good Chelsea side that told the world that Foden was ready for the big stage - if they didn't already know it.

He grabbed his first goal for the club in a Carabao Cup win at Oxford, and finished the season with seven in total - including two lovely finishes in the FA Cup to stop a gutsy challenge from League Two outfit Newport, and his first European goal in the Champions League during the 7-0 rout of Schalke.

But it was his first Premier League goal that completed his rise to becoming a true first team player, as he scored the only goal of the game after starting a must-win game against Tottenham. Had he not scored, City would not have won the league.

Next season, Foden will surely be included more and more in Guardiola's plans as his talent can no longer be underplayed or kept secret.

That talent has never been a secret to City, of course, as he has been carefully nurtured from top of the class in the academy to an important part of one of the best teams the Premier League has ever produced.

But a crucial stage of Foden's rapid rise did not come at the City Football Academy at all.

Instead, it was in India in 2017, as he won the Golden Ball award at the Under-17 World Cup. Foden returned with a new sense of purpose, and hasn't looked back since.

Now, City have another player who is already following in Foden's footsteps. And he has the individual trophy to prove it.

That player is 17-year-old Tommy Doyle, the City captain who lifted the U18 Premier League Cup this season and would have done the same in the FA Youth Cup had it not been for a penalty shoot-out defeat to Liverpool in the final.

Doyle, grandson of two City legends, is the leader of the youth team, and plays with class in the centre of the park. His game is more defensive than Foden's, but Doyle is also no stranger to a goal himself - particularly from range.

This week, he captained England in the prestigious Slovakia Cup, an international tournament for U18s. He started three out of four games, suffering another agonising final defeat on penalties as Spain emerged victorious.

But while he cannot boast an impressive youth title in his early career, what better reflection of his ability than the Player of the Tournament award. The equivalent recognition Foden got at the World Cup in 2017.

The next step for Doyle is to return to City with the same determination Foden did that year, and break into the first team environment. It won't be easy, but Doyle is already doing everything his fellow City fan did to get to where he is.

Who knows, maybe the pair will form a perfect Mancunian partnership in the future to lead a squad full of international stars.

And if Foden is the 'Stockport Iniesta' for his classy playing style, then Doyle is putting in a fine audition to become the 'Manchester Xavi'.