Pundit and former Manchester City player Michael Brown has said that Rico Lewis must be amazed by the amount of senior minutes he’s been getting in Pep Guardiola’s side.
The 18-year-old recently put pen to paper on a long-term contract at the Manchester club after making several appearances in the first team last season.
This has since led to one former City player sharing his thoughts on the youngster and the journey he’s been on to get where he is.
Brown wowed by Lewis
Speaking in a pre-match live stream on the club’s YouTube channel ahead of City’s recent Super Cup victory over Sevilla, Brown had this to say when asked about Lewis.
He said: “I think it’s been an incredible journey for a young player.
“The maturity that he had so quickly for a young player in a Pep Guardiola team to be able to play in different positions.
“Not only just in the position, you have to go and rotate in a midfield area, which he’s comfortable to take the ball, that will be the most difficult thing and we’ve seen players struggle right throughout Pep Guardiola’s reign at Manchester City, but he’s done it at a young age.
“To be able to slot in the middle, on the turn, knowing where to go, where to leave, knowing when to go back into the back four when needed at right-back and left-back.
“I mean an incredible talent and he must be thinking ‘at this age, how am I getting in this side?’ But he’s deserved all the minutes he’s had, incredible.”
Last season saw the right-back feature in 23 senior games across all competitions, starting 16 of them and featuring in numerous positions, as Brown mentioned, which goes to show how highly Guardiola thinks of him.
With the club having one of their most successful seasons ever in terms of the trophies they won, this will have put Lewis firmly in a very significant part of the club’s history.
Having also started City’s opening Premier League game of the new season in their 3-0 win over Burnley last Friday, this shows early signs of how much of a regular figure he could be in the team throughout the campaign.
With the club securing the youngster’s future until 2028 with his new contract, this further shows how much they see in him and want him to be at the club so he can continue to develop his game and become more of a prominent figure in the team.
