Manchester City plot contract talks with Rico Lewis following first-team breakthrough

Officials at Manchester City are planning to renegotiate contract terms with Rico Lewis following his breakthrough into Pep Guardiola’s first-team squad, according to a new report.

The 18 year-old defender has started all of Manchester City’s competitive fixtures since the return of club football following the break for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar last month, despite the return of the first-team mainstays.

Joao Cancelo and Kyle Walker have both been restricted to places among Manchester City’s substitutes on matchdays as a result of Rico Lewis’ fine form, with Pep Guardiola entrusting the teenager against the likes of Liverpool and away at Elland Road against Leeds United.

Now, as a result of his solidified place in the Premier League champions’ first-team squad, officials at the Etihad Stadium are reportedly planning to reward Rico Lewis through improved contractual terms.

This is according to the information of Jack Gaughan, who reports that despite Lewis having more than four years remaining on his current deal with Manchester City, the club are keen to renegotiate terms ‘over the coming weeks’.

While it is highlighted that talks are yet to begin with the relevant parties, The Mail report that Rico Lewis can be expected to earn a ‘significant uplift’ on wages of around £5,000 a week.

Discussions over the versatile full-back’s future are expected to go ‘smoothly’, according to Gaughan, with Manchester City holding a ‘strong relationship’ with the player’s agency, who also represent Kyle Walker and fellow academy graduate Cole Palmer.

Rico Lewis can be expected to garner even more game time across the course of the coming weeks, despite the expected improved fitness and consistent challenge of both Joao Cancelo and Kyle Walker for positions in Pep Guardiola’s starting line-ups.

Manchester City host Chelsea in the FA Cup third round this weekend, while a Carabao Cup quarter-final tie against Southampton on the South Coast is also on the agenda next week.