Andres Iniesta may never get the chance to play at Chesterfield during his illustrious career.

Not that the Barcelona and Spain star will be too bothered about that.

But Phil Foden, the Manchester City starlet dubbed the ‘Stockport Iniesta’, will no doubt look back on the night he made his England Under-21s debut here in north Derbyshire with nothing but fondness after helping Aidy Boothroyd’s men to a comfortable 7-0 victory.

Everton ’s Dominic Calvert Lewin scored either side of half-time to add to goals from Ademola Lookman, Ezri Konsa,substitutes Dominic Solanke and Reiss Nelson plus an own goal from Christian Garcia to finish it all off.

Phil Foden and Andorra's Christian Garcia battle for the ball (
Image:
EMPICS Sport)

But 18-year-old Foden still caught the eye with the sort of performance which told all those watching him for the first time why there is so much hype.

The midfielder played on the left of the midfield three and showed from the off the confidence and swagger that all the best players have.

Allied to that was a very good understanding with those around him and he enjoyed a good, positive influence throughout the game before assisting Solanke’s strike deep into the game.

So what's his passing like?

England U21's Phil Foden in action at Chesterfield (
Image:
EMPICS Sport)

The area Foden identified as his biggest strength in the build-up to this game and he showed his vision early on, looking to slip in Ryan Sessegnon at every opportunity with passes in between Andorra right-back Christian Garcia and right-sided central defender Albert Alavedra.

A huge, cross-field pass targeting Ademola Lookman carried too much weight but underlined his confidence. And rarely did he put a pass out of place after that one.

And that left foot...

…really is a thing of great beauty and when he’s running with the ball it’s like he has attached it to his left boot with velcro.

There’s a lovely elasticity about him as he bounces away from challenges and that gives him a balance that’s very easy on the eye.

He skipped past two Andorran defenders with ease midway through the first half to create himself a good shooting chance and was probably disappointed not to work visiting keeper Francisco Pires harder than he did with an effort that was hit fiercely enough but straight at him.

But can he defend?

Phil Foden heads the ball away (
Image:
Matt Bunn/BPI/REX/Shutterstock)

He wasn’t caught out of position once but, let’s be fair, none of us would have expected him to be out-witted by any of Andorra’s senior side, let alone their 21s.

What he needed to do, he did, showing the sort of engine you’d expect from a colt of his calibre.

And how far is he from a senior England call up?

Phil Foden made his England under-21 debut against Andorra (
Image:
Getty Images)

He’s on the right path, there’s no doubt about that, but the only way he’s going to follow Mason Mount, Jadon Sancho, James Maddison and others down it is by playing first-team football on a regular basis.

It’s not rocket science. He started the Community Shield for City and the Carabao Cup game against Oxford, and has come on as substitute in three of City’s Premier League fixtures this season while Mount, Sancho and Maddison are all starting for Derby, Borussia Dortmund and Leicester week in, week out.

Training with Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva, Sergio Aguero and Co every day is obviously great for his development but a season at the bottom half of the Premier League or top end of the Championship in 2019-20 is just what he needs.