Joleon Lescott has named the player he believes has been the standout performer for Manchester City in pre-season so far.
Pep Guardiola‘s side took on Barcelona in their latest match in Orlando, drawing the game 2-2 but then losing 4-1 on penalties.
Jack Grealish and Rico O’Reilly got the goals for City, with Pep making an interesting move by fielding Kalvin Phillips at centre-back.
Phillips had struggled as a defensive midfielder, so Pep decided to try him in the backline – and the Englishman came in for praise for his performance.
One man who was a little quieter against Barca than in the games against Celtic and AC Milan was Oscar Bobb. Bobb seriously impressed last week, but was still a threat against Barca.
In the eyes of Joleon Lescott, he has been City’s top performer over the last few weeks.
Oscar Bobb has been the ‘standout performer’ during Man City pre-season, says Joleon Lescott
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Bobb made a good impact in his first season with the first-team last season.
After being promoted on the advice of Txiki Begiristain, the Norway international gave some really good cameo performances, and also came up with some big moments such as the winning goal he scored away at Newcastle in injury-time.
Bobb has been able to play a big part in pre-season so far, with a number of key players still being away.
And for Lescott, he’s been City’s best player.
He said, as quoted by mancity.com: “I think Oscar’s been the standout performer throughout the three games [of City’s pre-season tour of the United States] so far.
“I think he’s probably made the most right decisions, regardless of the outcome.
“His decision-making has been perfect and that’s all you can ask for from someone so young – but of any player – if they get into the right positions, what is the outcome?”
Bobb needs more minutes for Man City in 2024/25
Bobb has looked really impressive over the last couple of weeks, with Pep having branded him ‘electric’ after the defeat to Milan.
He was able to dip his toe into Premier League football last season, and he should now be looking to make a bigger impact.
But to do that he needs a show of faith from the manager. To get that, he needs to be impressing in training. And so far in pre-season, he has been doing just that.
Bobb has the potential to be special. David James went as far as to suggest that could well be the next Phil Foden at City, and it really is not out of the question that he could enjoy a similar rise.
Hopefully in 2024/25, we will be seeing much more of him. He certainly appears to have stepped up his game.
