Manchester City academy coach Ben Wilkinson has said that one player in Pep Guardiola’s squad is so good on the ball.
The Manchester club have seen numerous players emerge through their youth ranks to feature in the first team over the past few years.
Players such as Phil Foden have gone on to become pivotal figures in Guardiola’s side, whereas others such as Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers have gone on to join other clubs.
Now though, Wilkinson has highlighted one particular former youth star who has gone on to have a regular spot in the senior squad at the Etihad Stadium.
Wilkinson says Man City academy graduate reminded him of Philipp Lahm
In a recent interview with The Times, Wilkinson had this to say about what he saw from Rico Lewis when he was part of the youth ranks at City.
He said: “I always felt Rico had a chance of doing things with [Pep Guardiola] because he’s a perfect kind of profile.
“When he played for us, he reminded me of Philipp Lahm. He was almost wasted as a full-back with his qualities on the ball.
“You needed to get him in the middle of the pitch to affect games, create overloads.”
Guardiola is a big fan of Rico Lewis
After making 45 appearances for City’s youth sides, the right-back made his senior debut for the club during their 4-0 win over Bournemouth at the start of the previous Premier League campaign.
Since becoming a regular figure in Guardiola’s squad, the 19-year-old has shown his versatility by playing in numerous defensive and midfield positions across the pitch.
Back in October, Guardiola had this to say about Lewis’ versatility and how important it is for young players to come up from the academy into the first team.
He said: So important. That helps us to have a bigger and longer squad. We have players like Bernardo [Silva] and Phil who can play in three or four different positions if we need it.
“If Rico does it, it’s because he’s so intelligent. His position in the centre is really good in the short spaces.”
With Lahm predominantly being a right-back and then playing a regular role as a defensive-midfielder under Guardiola when they were at Bayern Munich, it’s easy to see why Wilkinson has said Lewis reminded him of the German due to the quality he has on the ball.