Rico Lewis offers cheap route into Manchester City’s defence but perhaps only temporarily
SEVERAL widely-owned defenders justified their popularity in Gameweek 1.
Josko Gvardiol (£4.5m), Trent Alexander-Arnold (£5.5m) and Pedro Porro (£4m) all banked double-digit hauls to pick up where they left off last season but gaffers should also take note of the surprise names floating near the top of the rankings at this exceedingly early stage.
Rico Lewis (£3m) being a prime example.
The 19-year-old was listed at right-back for Manchester City’s opening game against Chelsea but, as is common these days, he was deployed as an inverted full-back and spent a lot of time in midfield.
After a typically mature yet tenacious performance, Lewis earned nine points via a clean sheet, bonus point, two tackles and appearance points as Pep Guardiola’s side won 2-0 at Stamford Bridge.
The England one-cap wonder was expected to start for the champions in Gameweek 1 as Kyle Walker (£4m) returned to training late following his involvement with the Three Lions at Euro 2024.
After an impressive performance and healthy returns to show for it, many Dream Team managers will now be wondering how long Lewis will maintain his status as a starter for the defending champions.
In the short-term, he appears to be a strong option for Gameweek 2 with Man City set to host Ipswich.
They will then travel to West Ham in Gameweek 3 before Gameweek 4 brings a home game against Brentford as well as their first Champions League fixture of 2024/25.
At £3m, Lewis is comfortably the cheapest City defender and should be considered a tremendously generous bargain if guaranteed substantial minutes.
But at this stage it remains unclear if and when Walker will reclaim his place as first-choice right-back.
The 34-year-old was an unused substitute on Sunday, as was John Stones (£4.5m), but Phil Foden (£6.5m) was given 45 minutes – perhaps an indication that the England contingent will be reintegrated sooner rather than later.
Of course, there’s a chance Walker may have been permanently usurped.
His performance levels have been declining of late, as is natural with age, while Lewis’ role at the club grows in prominence every day.
Guardiola cares not for egos and reputations, he will always select the team he believes best capable of getting a result and it may be this results in fewer minutes for Walker going forward.
Alternatively, Lewis may be given increased playing time in specialist midfield roles – a possibility that would certainly increase his Dream Team viability.
At the very least, this is a situation for Dream Team bosses to monitor closely.