Rico Lewis has opened up on his immediate ambitions at Manchester City after losing his place in Enzo Maresca’s starting eleven in the opening weeks of the new Premier League season.
The homegrown defender started City’s season opener against Bournemouth but has since been an unused substitute in the club’s last two league fixtures.
This is a shift in fortunes for a player who had established himself as one of Pep Guardiola’s most trusted squad members in recent seasons.
Maresca, who took charge at the Etihad Stadium over the summer following Guardiola’s departure, is now shaping his own vision for the side, and Lewis finds himself among several academy products having to adjust to life under a new regime.
The youngster vows to take his chance “day by day”
Speaking on his current situation, Lewis was measured and pragmatic, insisting he is focused on controlling what he can rather than dwelling on team selection.
“The most important thing is to take it day by day, training session by training session, game by game,” Lewis said.
“My goal is to play as much football as I can, whatever that looks like, but I’m just trying to play as many games.”
Lewis broke into City’s first team as a teenager under Guardiola and has since become accustomed to competing with a squad stacked full of internationals, often being asked to play out of position at right-back or in midfield to force his way into contention.
Maresca is no stranger to Lewis or the wider City dressing room. The Italian previously worked as one of Guardiola’s assistants during the club’s Treble-winning 2022-23 campaign and also had an earlier spell within City’s academy set-up. This gives him an intimate understanding of the pathway players like Lewis have come through.
Still feeling the “love” at the Etihad
Despite his reduced game time, Lewis was keen to stress that his connection with the club and its supporters has not wavered.
“I do feel that love at the Etihad,” he said. “It’s hard sometimes when I’m on the pitch to take notice of that stuff because you’re focusing on the game but there are moments when that togetherness really shines through, especially when any of us young lads are playing.”
He added: “That pathway through has its fruits and home fans always enjoy seeing Academy players in the first team.”
Players who progress through the ranks and go on to feature for the first team, as Lewis has done since making his senior debut in 2022, tend to be afforded a particular affection inside the Etihad.
Meanwhile, the new head coach is still shaping his squad and tactical approach following his summer appointment, and early-season team selection is unlikely to offer a definitive picture of where Lewis fits into his long-term plans.
For now, though, the England international appears content to bide his time, trusting the process that carried him from City’s academy setup to the first-team fold in the first place.
With a long season ahead and rotation likely across multiple competitions, Lewis will hope his patience — and his versatility — are rewarded sooner rather than later.
