Teenage defender Lewis enjoyed a stellar first season at senior level.
Having begun the campaign as our Under-18s captain, the Manchester born 18-year-old ended it as an integral part of Pep Guardiola’s squad, playing his part in our Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup triumphs.
Reflecting in his annual interview with City TV on both Lewis’ remarkable progress – as well as another magnificent season of achievement for the Club’s Academy as a whole - the City Chairman said Rico’s impact again illustrated the quality of talent being produced at youth level.
And pointing to the success of Phil Foden, the Chairman also highlighted how the Club both afford opportunities to our brightest young talent and carefully oversee their development and progress.
“We have a small group in terms of the squad. But also, we have shown in our Academy how we have produced the best team in England or the best teams in England over the last five, six years. Consistently. So, the talent is there,” the Chairman said.
CHAIRMAN: CITY BUILDING A MODERN LEGACY
“We have great players, great coaching staff, and that’s producing players like Rico Lewis, like Cole Palmer and many others.
“And we have a first team coach in Pep Guardiola that gives young talent a chance, that has the courage and the open mindedness to bring them in, give them the opportunity and you have then great examples.
“Look at Rico Lewis at 18, he’s given the opportunity and he grasps it and I’m very happy for him.
“I’m delighted for Rico, but I’m even more delighted for the Academy because it’s showing us consistently that we are producing that sort of talent.
“And then we have a pathway for them. The ones that we see have a pathway towards the first team, they get the chance, they get the opportunities.
“I mean look at Phil Foden coming out from the Academy. He is the most decorated player today, probably in English football at his age.
“Look at the minutes he’s played and look at the evolution from 17, 18, 19, 20, 21. We’ve been very careful in supporting Phil to get him to where he is today.
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“And we’ll do the same with Rico, we’ll do the same with Cole, and we’ll do the same with all the others.”
The Chairman was equally complimentary about the staggering success of our Academy sides.
In tandem with the first team, both our Elite Development Squad and Under-18s created yet more history in 2022/23 by each securing an unprecedented third straight Premier League 2 and Under-18 National title respectively.
And for the Chairman that was the very embodiment of the ethos and aims of the Club when first establishing the City Football Academy.
“So, think of that for a moment. A triple treble across all levels or most levels of professional football, within a club. This says it all,” the Chairman added.
“It says it all about how our Academy continues to produce and to match what we’re doing at the first team level.
“The triple treble shows you: this is across the board. And I think this is a testament to everyone in this Academy we have.
“We have an incredible Academy. We are producing the best football in England; we are producing the best talent in England.
“And we’re doing it consistently and we’re doing it hand-in-hand with the first team, which is kind of the, I would say, the essence of day one when we built CFA, how to keep the Academy and the first team all in the same place and create that continuity and that togetherness.”
