David James has said that Manchester City talent Oscar Bobb was his side’s biggest surprise package in pre-season.
Speaking on City’s official YouTube channel, the pundit was quizzed about which player shocked him the most in this three-game run.
David James instantly named Oscar Bobb out of any Manchester City player.
David James namechecks Oscar Bobb as biggest shock factor for Manchester City in pre-season
Branded as ‘unbelievable’ by Pep Guardiola, the Norwegian attacker especially turned heads with his mature display off the bench in the Sky Blues’ 5-3 victory against Yokohama F. Marinos.
In fact, every time the 20-year-old has been on the pitch for the treble-winners, he has looked the part.
The fact that Oscar Bobb looked first-team ready for Manchester City in pre-season is what has surprised David James, as he says, “I don’t know anything about him, to be fair. So, when he came on in that Yokohama game, what I loved was that he looked like he’d played for City for, I’m not going to say years because he’s only 20 years old but he’d been in the system and understood the system, and did what he needed to do.”
David James elaborated on why Oscar Bobb has impressed him as much as he has, continuing, “I think he set up [Joao] Cancelo for the assist for [Erling] Haaland [against Yokohama F.Marinos]. And just everything flowed. He looked like he could play in that position anytime Pep [Guardiola] needs him to play in that position.”
“When you’ve got a 20-year-old who’s been at the club for years and just getting into the side, doing the right things at the right time…I was shocked in a positive way on how Oscar Bobb looked like a City player.”
Oscar Bobb could get a lot of minutes next season
David James is spot on about Oscar Bobb, who looks like he could at least offer cover at right-wing next season, now that Riyad Mahrez has left Manchester City.
Capable of playing in midfield as well, the youngster could get a lot of minutes in cup competitions, which would be a huge step of progress for him in his City career.
And if Bobb makes an instant impression after the upcoming campaign begins, he could hold down the right-wing spot for at least a certain portion of the season, much like Lewis did at right-back in the previous term.
