Rico Lewis has been omitted from the England U21s squad, despite being one of Manchester City’s most important players this season.
The Young Lions will soon head to Georgia and Romania to take part in the 2023 U21s European Championships.
If England are to bounce back from a disappointing 2021 Euros, then they will have to overcome Germany, the Czech Republic and Israel in the group stage.
On Wednesday Lee Carsley announced his squad for the tournament, which includes four City players.
Cole Palmer, Tommy Doyle, James Trafford and Taylor Harwood-Bellis have all been called up, although there is one notable absence.
Rico Lewis enjoyed a breakout season at the Etihad Stadium, making 20 starts in all competitions as Pep Guardiola’s side won the treble.
While the 18-year-old didn’t play as much senior football as some of his fellow City youngsters this season – Doyle, Trafford and Harwood-Bellis all enjoyed successful loans at Football League sides – he might feel hard done by.
Lewis was expected to add to his solitary England U21s cap this summer partly because of the important role he has played for the best team in Europe.
City looked far from a treble-winning side back in January as poor performances and poor morale threatened to derail the season.
After a few rocky weeks City looked like their normal selves, with Guardiola adopting a new system to get the most out of his players.
For about a month, Guardiola tasked Lewis with transitioning from right-back to central midfield when City had possession, something that John Stones and Kyle Walker started doing in the final weeks of the campaign.
Speaking last month, Guardiola credited Lewis with teaching his senior teammates the role.
“It’s thanks to Rico – he helped us to understand what we had to do to play better and better,” Pep said.
“The last 10 games he didn’t play much but without Rico this season, the step we made as a team would have been more difficult. That I’m pretty convinced about that.
“The movement he does makes many things fluid. After that Kyle [Walker] realises, John [Stones] playing in that position has been exceptional.
However, Guardiola did point to something that might have counted against Lewis’ bid to make the squad.
“But the other players have things Rico doesn’t have – experience. This is why the team grows in many cases,” he said.
Lewis’ first England U21s cap will surely come, but for now he’ll get to make the most of a well-earned summer break.
