It’s been a remarkable rise for the 18-year-old since the defender came on as a late substitute for Kyle Walker in a 4-0 win over Bournemouth at the Etihad Stadium, our first home match of the 2022/23 campaign.
Still just 18-years-old, he became the Club’s fifth-youngest debutant in the process having helped our Academy side lift the Under-18 Premier League title just three months earlier.
Lewis has been a regular in the senior set up from then on and went on to break several records in a hugely impressive breakthrough campaign, which ended with the Treble.
With 24 appearances to his name, including our opening day win over Burnley on Friday, the youngster has incredibly averaged a trophy every eight matches so far under Guardiola!
To celebrate his new contract, we’ve collated some of his impressive numbers during that time.
Premier League
Since his senior bow in the competition, Lewis has gone on to make 15 Premier League appearances, 11 of which have been starts.
The first time Lewis was in the first XI was on 28 December 2022 against Leeds United when, aged 18 years and 37 days, he became the youngster Englishman to start a Premier League game for City since Micah Richards in May 2006.
His total of 982 minutes of Premier League football is the third-most of any teenager since August 2022, with only Southampton’s Romeo Lavia and Leeds winger Wilfried Gnonto having featured more regularly.
However, the City youngster’s win percentage of 73% in the top flight is far ahead of any other teenager.
Passing stats
Pep Guardiola’s men have consistently showcased a remarkable brand of free-flowing, possession-based football during his time at the Club, with defenders expected to be as comfortable on the ball as their more attacking team-mates.
Lewis’ outstanding numbers in this metric therefore demonstrate why he has fit so seamlessly into the well-oiled City machine.
Among teenagers to have completed more than 50 passes in the Premier League since his debut in August 2022, only Lavia can better the defender’s total of 621.
However, with a success rate of 91.7% from his 677 attempted passes, our young full-back leads the way across the English top flight, over 3% greater than his closest rival, Chelsea’s Carney Chukwuemeka.
That incredible figure extends onto a continental setting, with Lewis finishing the 2022/23 campaign with the best success rate of any teenager in Europe’s top five leagues to have attempted a minimum of 500 passes (92.2%).
Versatility
Despite his tender years, Lewis possesses a remarkable tactical intelligence, with his versatility a key feature in his rapid rise.
The 18-year-old has been consistently trusted by Guardiola to operate in the hybrid full-back role, which sees a defender drift into central areas to support build-up play.
It goes a long way to explaining his incredible passing stats, with the youngster’s technical ability, composure and vision all brought to the fore.
According to Opta, Lewis has spent 38% of his total minutes in the Premier League in central areas, in comparison to 27% in either full-back role.
It’s another eye-opening demonstration of both the faith afforded the 18-year-old, and the manner in which he’s grasped that opportunity with both hands.
Champions League Records
Of all the standout moments in Lewis’ young career so far, the greatest milestone was perhaps achieved on 2 November 2022.
Aged just 17 years and 346 days, the full-back had already become the fifth youngest Englishman to start a match in Europe’s elite competition before kick-off against Sevilla at the Etihad Stadium.
However, he would mark his first senior start, and UEFA Champions League debut, with a goal against Wednesday’s UEFA Super Cup opponents, confidently stroking home at the near post soon after the restart to draw us level.
In doing so, he became the youngster player in Champions League history to score on his first start in the UEFA Champions League, surpassing Karim Benzema’s strike for Lyon against Rosenborg in 2005 by six days.
Lewis had already impressed during substitute appearances at the beginning of the campaign, but it was that strike which perhaps really saw him take off.
