Rico Lewis has earned rave reviews for his display in England’s latest 2-0 victory against Finland in the UEFA Nations League.
Roy Keane lauded Lewis’ showing, claiming he was “excellent” for Lee Carsley’s side on Tuesday night.
Jason Cundy claimed Kyle Walker could be in trouble due to the emergence of the 19-year-old for both Manchester City and England.
Lewis was deployed as a left-back by Carsley — a position where he is not as comfortable as he looks when either playing as a right-back or in midfield.
However, the £25,000-a-week man was seemingly up for the challenge.
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O’Hara raves about Man City star after England beat Finland
The youngster seemed to understand the roles and responsibilities he was handed from the first whistle.
Lewis’ understanding of when to invert into midfield, push forward and stray out wide displayed his unique tactical intelligence for such a young player.
Going forward, the Manchester City wonderkid picked up tight pockets of space and received the ball in areas most players would perhaps lose it.
Yet, Lewis found a way to quickly find his teammates and emerged as a safe pass for them to play at all times.
Defensively, whether it be in one-v-one situations or inside his box, the versatile defender swept up any signs of danger that came his way.
Jamie O’Hara was full of praise for Lewis after England got over the line against Finland, claiming that he could play anywhere on the pitch.
O’Hara said on talkSPORT (10/09/2024, 10:12 pm): “You know what I love about him? He has got the awareness to play anywhere. One minute he is standing out on the left as a left-back, then he comes inside, then he drifts, he can play as a midfielder, he can play as a [number] 10.”
Rico Lewis could become England’s starting left-back
England have a plethora of top players in several positions but left-back remains an area of concern for them.
Luke Shaw continues to struggles with injuries while Ben Chilwell does not seem to be Chelsea’s starting left-back nowadays.
If Lewis can gain more experience at left-back and continues to impress like he did against Finland, he could become a starter under Lee Carsley.
With more senior minutes for Manchester City as well, the Englishman will develop tactically, physically and on the pitch as a whole.
As a result, Lewis could have a chance of emerging as England’s best left-back and potentially even start at the 2026 World Cup.
