The teenager has taken everyone by surprise with his rapid growth from being a promising player at the academy to an England international.
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Rico Lewis’ career growth is one of the biggest success stories at Manchester City of late. The teenager has taken everyone by surprise with his rapid growth from being a promising player at the academy to an England international. It was manager Pep Guardiola who identified his potential and gave him an opportunity at City senior side, which the young full-back has grabbed with both his hands.
His promising performances at the club level has earned him his senior England debut at the recent international break against North Macedonia. Rico Lewis impressed everyone by producing a standout performance on that night. Manchester City’s under-18s head coach Ben Wilkinson believes that Lewis’ rapid growth can be a massive motivation to other academy players. “The fact he was playing in the Under-18s 18 months ago and has now made his senior debut is unbelievable,” Wilkinson was quoted as saying on the club’s website.
He added: “I think it can be hard for our players sometimes to think they can get in the first team or the level of the first team and the demands that are placed on them. So seeing someone like Rico on top of Phil [Foden] and Cole [Palmer] should give the boys real inspiration and motivation that if they work to their maximum, have the right attitude, believe in their ability and back themselves if and when they get their opportunity they’re ready to take it.”
The under-18s head coach believes there are other promising players in the academy who could follow Lewis on a similar path in the future. “We’re seeing real positive signs of that, obviously those three were in the England squad but there’s many more out there at the minute – James Trafford, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, James McAtee, Tommy Doyle who are all on a similar trajectory doing great things for their age. So hopefully the boys see the pathway is there and it’s as good as it’s ever been. I think that puts everyone in a really good place to try and get better again this season,” he elaborated.
Wilkinson then went on to explain why he believed Lewis was always meant for greatness. “He always stood out as being a top player. The two years I worked with him, he was absolutely fantastic. But the trajectory he has gone on from 18 months ago – his last game would have been the Under-18s final against Southampton – to now making a first team senior international start for England, the trajectory is probably ahead of anything anyone could have dreamed of,” he explained.
He added: “That’s credit to him and how much he, first and foremost, impressed the manager last season in pre-season with not only his ability but also his work ethic and his mentality to get better. And then living that day-in and day-out over the course of last season, getting the opportunities he got and then performing has maybe put him into that next arena, really.”
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