Rico Lewis earns England senior call-up - How has he progressed at Manchester City?
A fantastic progression so far.
Category
đ„
SportTranscript
00:00 Michael, moving on to Manchester City, let's start with Rico Luissa, an England call-up to the senior squad for the first time, unbelievable for him.
00:09 What do you make of his performances and his progress in Pep Guardiola's side?
00:14 Yeah, I mean, so, you know, Rico Luissa this time, 18 months ago, had never played a senior game for Manchester City.
00:21 It was only really around this time over a year ago that he was starting to force his way into the team, or play a bit more of a sporadic role really.
00:28 He's had a fantastic 18 months, I think he deserved an England call-up.
00:32 I mean, to put it simplistically, if you're good enough to play for Pep Guardiola's Man City, you're good enough to play for any team in the world really.
00:39 And Luissa has, I think, you know, initially had his start and he looked good, and then he came in for a couple of games, particularly that Tottenham game away last season, and he struggled.
00:47 He found it really difficult in those big games. He was taken out of the team towards the end of the season, particularly the big Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup games.
00:54 But he's come back this season and done really well, particularly in the Champions League. I think he's twice been voted Man of the Match in City's four games.
01:00 So, look, he's had a really good start. I think that he probably will want to start playing more of a week-in-week-out role.
01:06 He's kind of in one week, out the other a little bit, particularly in the Premier League. I don't think he's started too many matches.
01:13 But I think what's great about Luissa is, you know, he's got all the technical ability you'd expect of a Manchester City player,
01:20 but he's also really adept at playing right back, going forward, defensively, can play midfield, can play that kind of sit-and-roll, spraying passes about.
01:27 But he's also got the engine to kind of get forward, create chances. I mean, particularly the RB Leipzig game away earlier this season, he was brilliant.
01:34 He was bypassing other midfielders, you know, advancing with the ball. He can dribble with the ball, he can pass. He's a fantastic player, Rico Luissa.
01:40 I'm really pleased for him. And it's funny the timing as well, because only last week he was put up as the press conference player ahead of the young boys' game.
01:47 And he was asked about getting into England squad, and he basically said, "Well, yeah, it's something that interests me, but I'm not thinking about it now."
01:56 And then suddenly, you know, a week later, he's called up to England squad. So it's good timing, really. And he seems like a really nice laddie.
02:02 I mean, he spoke about, you know, he's now starting to get recognised in co-op and people ask for a photo with him and things like that.
02:08 And he still lives with his parents as well. So, you know, really, really good story from Luissa, and I'm really pleased for him, actually.