Gareth Southgate met Rico Lewis at St George’s Park on Tuesday after the Manchester City youngster shone for the Citizens last week.
The Manchester City No.82 was named in the England Under-21 squad by Lee Carsley after starting against RB Leipzig and also Arsenal, training closely next to the senior Three Lions side.
At St George’s Park, there was an interesting interaction between Rico Lewis and Gareth Southgate…
What’s the story?
Well, the 53-year-old was seen shaking the 18-year-old’s hand following a significant week for him at Manchester City under Pep Guardiola.
Lewis was handed a start against Arsenal on Sunday ahead of Kalvin Phillips – who Southgate has named in his senior squad – after shining against RB Leipzig in the UEFA Champions League.
It surely won’t be long until the Bury-born wonderkid is involved in the senior setup as well if he maintains his current level of performance.
Southgate certainly seems impressed by what he’s seen from Lewis so far – you can see a photo of the handshake below.
The Manchester City academy graduate has previously made two appearances for the England Under-21 side, which in itself speaks volumes given the fact he is still only 18.
Rico Lewis must continue to perform at Manchester City
It is incredibly hard to break into a starting XI under Guardiola given the quality at the Spaniard’s disposal.
Lewis deserves great credit for actually getting ahead of the likes of Phillips and Matheus Nunes, but the challenge now is for him to stay in the starting XI – which will become even tougher now Rodri is back.
Nevertheless, Guardiola seems to love the Manchester City prospect, so unless his performance level drops drastically, we would expect the 52-year-old to keep playing him.
If Lewis does keep his place, it surely won’t be long until Southgate hands him a full international debut.
