Rico Lewis Reveals Preferred Manchester City Role Amid Struggle for Minutes Under Enzo Maresca

Rico Lewis Reveals Preferred Manchester City Role Amid Struggle for Minutes Under Enzo Maresca Rico Lewis has played in a series of different roles since breaking into the Manchester City senior squad under Pep Guardiola. More Videos Lewis, 21, came through the academy at Manchester City and made his first-team debut as a substitute against Bournemouth in August 2022, before playing his part in the club's treble-winning campaign that season. The England international signed a five-year contract extension in September 2025 that runs until 2030, but he has been limited to a bit-part role this season under Enzo Maresca, who succeeded Pep Guardiola in the summer. Lewis has been used in both midfield and defence by Maresca, starting the opening-day win over Bournemouth before featuring sporadically, although he produced two assists from midfield in Manchester City 's 5-1 UEFA Champions League win over AEK Athens last month. I enjoy helping the team going forward, admits Lewis In an interview with Give Me Sport , Lewis was asked about operating in different positions for Manchester City . "I've enjoyed playing wherever, but now I'm kind of getting that feeling where I enjoy helping the team going forward," the versatile star said. "So, I think the best place to do that is in the midfield for me. Finding that joy of scoring, assisting, that's what's kind of driving me to that feeling. "It's nice to play anytime. It's not like I only want to play here and I can't play anywhere else, because it's a positive thing to be able to play different positions." Lewis had admitted after the AEK Athens win that he has not had much time on the pitch this season, explaining that he had decided to simply play his own game rather than feel pressure to prove himself whenever he was handed an opportunity in the first team this season. Maresca assessed Lewis's situation ahead of the Carabao Cup tie with Brighton and Hove Albion last month, saying the 21-year-old can operate in both midfield and defence and that his role depends on where the team needs him most from one game to the next. The Italian added that Lewis had looked good after coming on at half-time in the 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa , with Matheus Nunes missing that game through injury and Lewis replacing Marc Guehi at the interval in Birmingham. Both of Lewis' assists against AEK Athens came for Foden, who scored a hat-trick on the night, in a game where Maresca made eight changes to his starting line-up and handed the academy graduate a rare start in midfield. Competition in central midfield remains fierce, with Elliot Anderson and Enzo Fernandez forming Maresca's first-choice pairing in the biggest games, and Ayyoub Bouaddi, Rayan Cherki, Phil Foden and Mateo Kovacic also among the options named by the Italian. Manchester City 's right-back situation has been less settled, with Nunes, a natural midfielder, starting most league games in the position and Abdukodir Khusanov also deployed there in last weekend's 3-1 defeat at Nottingham Forest before the international break. Lewis has previously been linked with a move away from the Etihad Stadium, with Forest reported to have explored the possibility of signing the England international. City head into the international break on the back of three straight Premier League defeats and sit six points behind leaders Arsenal  - and Maresca has  vowed to resolve the problems in the two-week pause after meeting the first major blip of his new job. The Blues return from the international break at home to Fulham at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday 21 November, Lewis's 22nd birthday, before hosting Napoli in the Champions League on Tuesday 24 November and visiting Arsenal on Sunday 29 November.