Manchester City confident of agreeing deal with 18 year-old star defender by May

Officials at Manchester City are confident of striking an agreement with rising defender Rico Lewis by the end of the ongoing season, as per a recent report.

The teenager has gone from strength to strength following the return of club football after the break for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, often holding down the starting right-back role under Pep Guardiola in the last few months.

Lewis operates in a more complex version of the traditional right-back role however, often finding himself in an inverted position and working alongside Rodri in the defensive midfield area of the field.

That understanding of the game is something that has gone a long way in persuading Pep Guardiola that he can be trusted in the most difficult of matches, with Rico Lewis having started games against the likes of Leeds United at Elland Road as well as Liverpool.

The City academy product also arguably changed the game when Manchester City went away to Stamford Bridge in January, replacing Kyle Walker at half-time and ensuring that the reigning Champions secured all three points on the road.

After weeks of exemplary work within Pep Guardiola’s first-team squad, there is now a clear intention to reward the teenager for his meteoric rise at the very top of the game, with a deal over a new contract reportedly expected before the end of the season.

That is according to a report from Pete O’Rourke of Football Insider, who states that Rico Lewis is in talks over a lucrative long-term contract at City, and all parties are ‘happy with the direction of negotiations’ and are ‘confident’ of an agreement before the end of May.

It is stated that the 18 year-old’s new Etihad Stadium deal is likely to reflect his potential as a key man for Manchester City and England in the years to come, with the first-team mainstay full-back currently earning a reported £5,000-a-week on a deal set to expire in June 2024.

Speaking during a recent interview, Rico Lewis commented on his complex version of a traditional right-back role, admitting the finer details of what is being asked of him by Pep Guardiola.

“Pep just tells me to play my normal game but asks me to go inside alongside Rodri, to give us more control of the midfield,” said Lewis. “It’s about winning the ball back on the transition. It’s nice that he wants to play me and trusts me, it’s up to me to perform.

“The players in the dressing room are very experienced and have had it every year, we know to focus on ourselves and that’s the only way.”

Pep Guardiola himself has also stressed the importance of Manchester City nurturing and developing youth talents into first-team squad regulars, claiming that the likes of Rico Lewis and Phil Foden are what is best of the club’s academy.

“The fact he (Rico Lewis) played games from eight years old is the best investment,” admitted the Manchester City boss. “If we went to the market, how much would it cost to get Phil Foden? A lot of money. This is what is the best for the academy. The same with Rico Lewis.”