Rico Lewis could quit Man City, Premier League rivals on alert
Rico Lewis could push to leave Man City in the next transfer window as several Premier League clubs eye his services, sources have told Football Insider.
Lewis' future was up in the air over the summer as Nottingham Forest registered an interest in his signature.
He remained at Man City for this season but has yet to be handed regular minutes by Enzo Maresca.
The 21-year-old has only started one Premier League game so far and could soon become disheartened with his struggle for game time.
As I revealed on the latest edition of Football Insider's Transfer Insider podcast, Lewis may look to depart Man City in the next window for a better guarantee of being in a starting eleven long term.
City are awaiting the final verdict of their 114 charges against the Premier League and will be keen to keep hold of the 21-year-old in case they are sanctioned heavily.
Rico Lewis leaving Man City is a possibility after previous links
Lewis impressed in midweek with two assists in City's 5-1 win over AEK Athens for his first goal contributions since a January thrashing of Exeter.
The versatile full-back then came on at half-time in their defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday, but was unable to make much of an impact.
He remains under contract at the Etihad until 2030 but may look to make an exit if an interested club presents an offer in the next window and his squad status doesn't change.
Speaking on the Transfer Insider podcast, I explained: "A lot will depend on Rico Lewis himself. If he's not getting regular game time at Manchester City, then maybe he might think at this stage of his career he needs to move on in search of regular first-team football, and if that is the case, there'll be a lot of clubs who'll be ready to try and sign him."
Lewis was outperformed by Abdukodir Khusanov versus Villa
Maresca chose Khusanov to start at right-back against Villa despite Lewis' impressive Champions League showing, with Matheus Nunes out injured.
The Uzbek defender made the joint-most defensive contributions (16) and joint-most passes into the final third (10) of any player, while only Jeremy Doku won more ground duels (11) than him.
Lewis' half-time arrival for Marc Guehi meant Khusanov switched to centre-back, but the Englishman made just one pass into City's final third, committed two fouls and won 50 per cent of his ground duels (3/6).