It seems like one quality that Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola seems to especially admire in players is their degree of versatility.
Throughout his managerial career, Guardiola has always seemed to give players who can play in multiple positions playing time.
At Manchester City, it is no coincidence that Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gundogan, Manuel Akanji and Phil Foden have often played crucial roles for their side over the years because of their tactical flexibility.
The £378,846-a-week manager sets up his side based on the opposition’s strengths and weaknesses and to do so, he must start players who can hurt the other team.
The opposition manager might also witness his gameplan fail to come to fruition if Pep Guardiola plays a player in a certain position that he did not foresee.
Furthermore, Manchester City tend to play a massive number of games across all competitions every season.
Guardiola names “intelligent’ Man City star who can play everywhere
The Catalan tactician can manage to keep a small squad due to the presence of versatile players, with Rico Lewis being another stalwart who is a Swiss-army knife.
The Englishman has a case for being one of the most versatile players in the Premier League.
Whether it as a right-back or a left-back, in central midfield or even as an advanced number eight, the 19-year-old seems to be able to adapt to the complexities that come with playing in variety of roles in a season.
As a result, the youngster has especially become an integral first-team player for his boyhood club this campaign.
Ahead of Manchester City’s upcoming clash against Arsenal, the Bury-born technician could be in line for a start.
Pep Guardiola has claimed that Lewis is a player who can adjust to playing in any position on the pitch.
Guardiola said via HaytersTV: “He can play in every position. So smart, I said many times, when you ask 20 players, ‘What is your position? Oh, I play holding midfielder, Oh, I play [as a] winger’, Rico [Lewis] plays football.”
“If you put him in one position, he knows exactly what he has to do. So intelligent and you know, he’s playing because he’s playing really good. So, the game against Inter again, the game against Chelsea, so all the games played so far, always, has been really, really, really good.”
“That’s why I think, honestly, he deserves the minutes he has.”
Rico Lewis could have a great career solely due to his versatility
Lewis could go on to have an excellent career solely due to how versatile a player he is.
The Manchester City defender is well and truly a manager’s dream.
As Pep Guardiola stated, the England international can play across a wide array of positions and that too at a high standard; a quality that a select few players possess in world football.
Due to this being the case, Lewis could get regular minutes for both club and country for years to come as he provides managers the opportunity to opt for him in several roles.
The two-time Premier League winner’s versatility is one of his biggest strengths.
