Micah Richards blown away by ‘class act’ Man City ace who’s ‘not being spoken about’
Micah Richards only had positive things to say after England completed a perfect World Cup qualifying campaign against Albania.
Harry Kane netted a brace in the final 20 minutes to secure the Three Lions’ eighth win of qualifying, topping the group with 22 goals scored, zero conceded, and World Cup football in the bag.
Surprisingly, Jarrod Bowen was handed a start by Thomas Tuchel, alongside Adam Wharton, Dean Henderson, and even Jarell Quansah, in what was the former Liverpool man’s international debut.
It was far from a resounding win for Tuchel’s side, but with World Cup qualification already secured, it was more about individual players trying to impress, and Man City‘s Nico O’Reilly has done exactly that.
Nico O’Reilly given a special mention on England duty
O’Reilly started both matches for England, and after seeing him perform at left-back for the national team, Richards wanted to give a special mention to the Man City academy product.
“Can we talk about left-back? Nico O’Reilly. A centre-midfielder playing left-back for Man City and England. He’s 20 years of age, and what a player he is,” he said on The Rest is Football podcast (17 November).
“I love the way… He’s good going forward, defensively, he’s sound enough as a midfielder, he’s good on the ball, he gets on it in midfield. He’s a class act to do that.
“The talk is always about [Jude] Bellingham, [Phil] Foden, and [Marcus] Rashford coming back into the side, and [Harry] Kane does what he does. What he’s doing at 20 years of age… It’s like he’s not being spoken about.“
Pep Guardiola excited about a ‘top, top player’ emerging at Man City
Despite the fact that O’Reilly is naturally a midfielder, very little has been said about the player’s rise to the top, all while out of position at left-back.
After the Champions League win over Napoli, Pep Guardiola said, “Nico O’Reilly… he’s a top, top player. He can play in three, four positions.
“His presence in set-pieces, one-v-one, with the ball, he’s really good, arrives good in the final positions. He’s a player, hopefully, for many years!”
The 20-year-old has started seven of City’s Premier League games so far this season, with another three Champions League starts to his name, and very few could push him out of the team right now.