Lewis: Academy talent can flourish on US Tour | OneFootball

Rico Lewis says City’s USA Tour is a massive opportunity for our Academy stars to showcase their talents, as he did in 2022.

Pep Guardiola has selected plenty of exciting young talent from the Club’s Elite Development Squad and Under-18s, many of whom are enjoying their first exposure to first team football.

Lewis was in their position two years ago, bursting onto the scene as an 18-year-old on the Club’s last US visit when he made a major impact from the bench in a 1-0 win over Bayern Munich.

CITY v CELTIC | GET YOUR TICKETS

He’s since gone on to become a regular for City, making over 50 first team appearances while also being handed a senior England call-up.

And ahead of City’s first pre-season friendly against Celtic at Chapel Hill’s Kenan Memorial Stadium, the defender offered some words of wisdom to the latest crop of young talent hoping to follow suit.

“Honestly, I can’t wait [to play]. It’s nice to be away but after a while you want to get back out there,” he said of Tuesday’s 19:30 (EDT) showdown.

“Training is good, but there’s nothing better than playing in a game.

“It’s a massive chance and opportunity for them [City’s Academy stars], but the main thing is you have to enjoy it.

“It’s not a normal thing for them to be in a first team environment, especially at the level of City.

“First of all, they need to enjoy it and appreciate that they’re here, but work as hard as they can and be honest with themselves.

“I’m sure there’s so much quality in them that a few of them will get their chance.”

Fresh from leading our Under-18s to Premier League North glory in 2021/22, Lewis’ standout performance against Bayern Munich on our 2022 tour was capped off by a mazy solo run into the box, before striking the post at Lambeau Field.

WATCH: City v Celtic: English and Scottish champions to meet in North Carolina

Erling Haaland’s strike on his City debut sealed a 1-0 win for Pep Guardiola’s men in a match delayed and shortened by adverse weather conditions.

But while the Norwegian’s first appearance rightly stole the headlines, Lewis’ impressive display also provided the platform for his own remarkable rise.

“I was very nervous, I almost didn’t want to come on because of the nerves,” the defender jokes.

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CITY’S USA TOUR

“But the manager came over and told me I was coming on to play. That’s what basically kickstarted my career.

“Looking back, it was just something that was meant to happen. I was meant to be on the trip, I was meant to be on the bench and then come on for those last few minutes.

“It was amazing. It could’ve easily been called off so many times, but the game was just meant to happen.

“That game will forever be in my memory.”

USA TOUR 2024

City face Celtic, AC Milan, Barcelona and Chelsea during the Club’s pre-season tour of the United States.

As always, mancity.com and the official app are the best places to keep across all things City during our time in the US.

Including pre-match press conferences and live open training as well as detailed and varied in-game and post-friendly coverage of all our fixtures, our website and app provide fans with a complete City experience, all from one handy place.

DOWNLOAD THE MAN CITY APP

Our matches will be shown on both platforms in the following countries: United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Japan, Norway, Sweden and United Arab Emirates.

To access these matches from one of the locations listed above, you will need an active CITY+ subscription. Those same restrictions will apply to full-match replays and Pitcam highlights.

SUBSCRIBE TO CITY+

For fans living outside of the countries named, we will have a full explainer article on how to tune in coming in due course.

Subscribers will be able to watch on the official app and mancity.com, with the option to cast matches onto their TV from mobile devices. Find out how to do this via our handy guide here.

For more information on CITY+, including subscription prices, click here.