‘Pep Guardiola no longer fancies Man City stalwart despite star exit’
Pep Guardiola has decided he can no longer rely on a former squad “stalwart” to be a starter for Man City, Danny Mills has suggested.
Rico Lewis had emerged as a regular and useful feature for the Premier League champions over the past few seasons, but has seen his involvement regress recently.
Despite the impending departure of Kyle Walker in that position, the 20-year-old has not started any of the last four games for the club.
Instead, central midfielder Matheus Nunes has found himself playing on the right of defence for Man City in that period.
That continued to be the case against PSG in the Champions League on Wednesday (22 January), when Guardiola’s side let a 2-0 lead slip to lose 4-2, leaving Mills to question Lewis’ place in the manager’s plans.
Speaking after the game about that right-back situation on Sky Sports Soccer Special (22 January, 10:00pm), the former Man City and England defender said: “Matheus Nunes, fish out of water playing at right-back, not his position.
“Obviously Kyle Walker’s gone. He clearly doesn’t fancy Rico Lewis in that position now, he was almost a stalwart as a stand-in for Kyle Walker last season. They just got overrun.”
Pep Guardiola has Rico Lewis decision to make at Man City
Football Insider Verdict
In what has been such a dismal period for the Premier League champions, Lewis has not exactly been one of the main culprits for the club.
Indeed, the 20-year-old has certainly been no more culpable for what has happened than any of his other Man City teammates.
As a result it seems strange he is not being given the nod from the start at right-back at this moment in time, especially given Nunes’ own issues in that position.
With this now being highlighted it will be interesting to see if Guardiola elects to revert this decision considering the growing need for some positive results.
If it proves to be the case that he does not want to rely on Lewis, Man City will surely need to find another right-back quickly.
Nunes has shown he is not a long-term option in that position and with Walker on his way out it is a situation that would leave the club worryingly short on depth on that side of defence.
In other news, Rio Ferdinand has aimed a dig at a Man City fan on social media.
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