Rico Lewis says his newManchester Citycontract enables him to continue to live his dream.
The 18-year-old Academy graduate has today extєɴԀed his Ԁєɑł with the Club, keeping him at the Etihad Stadium until 2028.
Having progressed from Under-18s captain to a pivotal squad member in last year’s Treble success, Lewis’ new contract is a reward for his continued improvement and temperament beyond his years.
After making his first senior appearance during last summer’s Tour of the US, his rise was dramatic.
He made his Premier League debut in August 2022 as a late substitute forKyle Walkerand didn’t look back, playing 27 times across all competitions.
He has started the 2023/24 campaign in fine form too, starting our Premier League opening day victory over Burnley on Friday night.
Speaking after putting pen to paper, the Bury-born defєɴԀer was elated.
“It’s amazing,” he said.
“For me, my family, it’s a chance for me now to live my dream and work as hard as I can to, you know, continue to get better and do more for the club. So, yeah, I’m really proud.
“I’ve been given the chance to play in a team that has won the Treble. And I’m being given a new contract at the club that I love and I’ve been at my whole life.”
Although a defєɴԀer first and foremost, Lewis has been used in a complex hybrid role for many of his games underPep Guardiolato date.
Starting at full-back in a conventional back four, the No.82 was asked to move into midfield alongsideRodrigoin order to assist our build-up play from back to front.
Our philosophy means players at all levels of our Academy learn the fundamentals of being part of aManchester Cityside, and it was a role Lewis had experienced previously.
However, the youngster believes working withGuardiolahas taken his knowledge of the game and its intricacies to a new level.
He said: “It’s something I touched on when I was in the Under-18s for the year and coming inside more often, but it wasn’t really as much as I did with Pep.
“He asked me to play a certain way and I’m not going to say no. It’s a chance to play more games and I can play a different role. And yeah, I think it clicked very well.”
Lewis also had JohnStonesto learn from.
The England international was asked to play in a similar way as the season reached its climax, stepping out from the centre of defence instead of a wider position.
And our man knows just how lucky he is to be able to learn from players of that calibre.
“Watching John do it in training and other players do it, it’s like a first-hand lesson to what I need to do, how I need to move,” he said.
“But I think once I started playing a few more times, I understood it and it became more of a signature role for myself.”
Lewis could have had hoped for a better first campaign in senior football, єɴԀing up with Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup winners medals.
In order to win the three biggest prizes available to an English club,Cityhad to come thɾօυɢҺ countless challenges.
Lewis now feels that getting thɾօυɢҺ those moments and maintaining a winning mentality will stand him in good stead for the remainder of his career.
“In the bad moments, there weren’t many for the team, everyone kept their head, didn’t get carried away or didn’t lose focus of what the єɴԀ goal was,” he summarised.
