Kovacic: Foden the player I enjoy playing with most at Man City

Foden, by his own admission, has been flat this season as City have also struggled.

Kovacic told City's official podcast: "He's top. He's the player I like to play with the most. We have that connection and, in the half-spaces, I've never seen a better player in my career.

"I've played with a lot of players and that's the most difficult position: moving between the lines, having the ability to receive the ball wherever it comes and turn in the right way, it's not easy.

"I've played in that position and I hate it, because you have to wait for the right moment to move in the right way, and he does it in an incredible way. He's a special talent and he's proving it."