He spends weekdays learning from David Silva at Manchester City, and on Saturday he inspired England's under-17 side to World Cup glory in India in a stunning 5-2 win over Spain.

It was a moment that underlined England possessing the best emerging talent on the planet, having also won the U20s World Cup and U19s European Championship.

But among all the names that have made an impact, Phil Foden is the face of the next generation.

Pep Guardiola took a shine to Foden from the moment he arrived in Manchester, and figures inside the club are convinced it won't be long before he is a regular face on our TV screens.

So as Foden now revels in his glory with England's young stars, we can reveal the inside story of how this next-generation star was unearthed.

I tracked down the man who spotted his potential almost a decade ago—Joe Makin. He is a City recruitment coordinator and has been waiting for this breakthrough moment since 2008.

Foden was only eight when Makin began to take his talent seriously. For him, this journey has certainly been worth the wait.

Spotting His Talent

So many of us spent those early school days in the playground, pretending we were going to be the next big thing. But that is exactly where Foden's dream began to come true.

One of Makin's undercover scouts spotted Foden's talent at his small primary school in Stockport.

"We have spotters all across Manchester," Makin told me. "They include dinner ladies and teachers at local schools. Basically if there are kids playing football, we probably have someone looking out for special talent.

"Anyway, Phil was spotted by one of these people and recommended to us. A lot of these people are City fans, so they are excited to help get good young players into the club so we follow it up.

"I would say that 99 times out of 100, nothing happens beyond us popping along to have a look. But every time you go to look at a player you do think, 'this could be the one'. That was the case with Phil.

"He would play for our local team, Reddish Vulcans, and because he was born later in the year he was smaller physically than other players. But we would put him in the side and he'd just take it in his stride.

"I remember one particular game when he was still a young kid and one of the parents behind us said, 'You would pay money to watch this lad'.

"That moment has always stuck with me. We all knew very early on that we were watching something special."

Getting Him on Board

Foden flourished at Reddish Vulcans, where Makin was heavily involved.

And while other scouts began to notice him, his path was always going to lead to City. Makin would make sure of that. His official job title at City is academy recruitment coordinator, after all.

"To give a recent example, everyone in Manchester knew about Marcus Rashford when he was young," Makin explained. "All the clubs knew about him—and Foden has been no different.

"Scouts from lots of different clubs used to queue up at the end of games at Reddish Vulcans. They wanted to speak to his dad and hoped to sign him. But I never worried; I knew we would have him at City. I'm a diehard Blue after all!

"When Phil came into the club, one of the first things that was noticeable was that no one could get the ball off him.

"Some players are just born with a gift, and I think he is one of those players."

Keeping His Feet on the Ground

Having a gift is one thing, but turning professional is something so much more difficult.

We have all heard stories of players who were great as kids but failed to fulfill their potential. Many end up sat on a pub bar stool, recounting the days when they were on the brink of stardom with anyone who will listen.

Foden has taken everything in his stride, though.

In a great player, you want confidence without the ego and talent without the cockiness. Makin recognises all the great traits in the lad he helped discover.

"He really is a very grounded lad," Makin said. "At Reddish Vulcans the young lads have been getting really excited about him getting run-outs for City. It's inspiring for them.

"Up until he was 16, he used to help out with our coaching sessions on a Saturday morning. He'd come along and train the lads but never made a fuss about the fact he was a City player and training with these huge superstars.

"He never even wore his City tracksuit. Just turned up, low-key. He's a really nice lad."

Foden began to become more recognised in July when he played in a pre-season Manchester derby on the club's U.S. tour. His performance was outstanding, and afterwards Guardiola told reporters, "You are the lucky guys who saw the first game, for the first team for Manchester City, of this guy."

Makin was watching that moment from afar, back in Manchester, with a huge grin on his face.

The Big Breakthrough

City are crying out for a local lad to emerge among the superstar names they sign. Almost everyone is expecting Foden to be that player.

Technically, he has it all. Mentally, he's certainly on the right track too.

"He never makes a big fuss and keeps himself to himself, a little like Paul Scholes was as a player away from the pitch," Makin explained.

"And when I have seen him score goals, he is not into elaborate celebrations. He just runs back to the halfway line and waits for the other lads with a smile on his face."

That was somewhat different after scoring his two goals on Saturday in Kolkata, though. Foden could not contain his excitement—even pointing at the name on the back of his jersey after one of his efforts hit the net. And who could blame him?

While Foden's name may be new to fans globally, this moment in the spotlight comes as no surprise to those closer to him. 

It is true that David Silva has been acting as his mentor at Manchester City, and staff within the Etihad Campus genuinely believe the youngster could take over his role in the side.

Guardiola adores Foden's style of play and has made a point of integrating him in the first team at every opportunity. Celtic made an approach to sign him at the start of this season, but it was made clear City wanted him to feel part of their set-up and become comfortable as part of their first team.

He would have played in the Carabao Cup for City against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Wednesday night—a game his side drew 0-0 and won on penalties—had he not been away with England's under-17 stars.

Now that he has written his name into the history books on the international stage, he'll head back to Manchester looking to underline his status as one of the best young talents in the game.