Phil Foden and Jadon Sancho are the two wonder-kids produced by the Manchester City academy, who were part of the England squad for the U-17 World Cup held in India in 2017.
On 11th May 2021, Manchester City have been crowned Premier League Champions for the fifth time after Leicester City beat Manchester United by two goals to one. Phil Foden, who is currently part of the Manchester City side, was the hot topic in India in 2017, when he won the U-17 World Cup with England and was also the player of the tournament. Foden and Sancho are not the only two players from Manchester City who have graced football pitches in India. Here is a list of the top three players in the Indian Super League (ISL) after their time at Manchester City.
3) David James (Kerala Blasters)
David Benjamin James MBE, the English-born goalkeeper, joined the Indian Super League (ISL) outfit Kerala Blasters in the inaugural season as a player-manager like Nicolas Anelka. He had a decent stint with Kerala Blasters, keeping five clean sheets in 12 matches, helping the Blasters qualify for the playoffs, and reaching the finals, where a narrow 1-0 margin defeated them by ATK.
James spent most of his playing time in England, making 572 appearances and keeping 169 clean sheets (second-highest to date behind Petr Cech). He played for Aston Villa, Portsmouth, Liverpool, Manchester City, and others. After David Seamen left Manchester City in 2004, James replaced him and made 93 appearances for the Citizens. For his time at Manchester City, James will always be remembered for the match against Middlesbrough on the final match-day of the 2004-05 Premier League season.
He initially started the match as a goalkeeper, but with five minutes left on the clock, and the score tied at 1-1, manager Stuart Pearce decided to bring on substitute goalkeeper Nicky Weaver in place of midfielder Claudio Reyna and asked David James to play as a striker, which almost paid off when Middlesbrough defender conceded a penalty while trying to defend a cross which was supposed to reach James. However, the resulting penalty was saved.
James, who initially played with Kerala Blasters as a player-manager in 2014, returned to the Indian Super League (ISL) in 2018 as head coach of Kerala Blasters.