'He can be that' - Cole, Lescott agree 'wonderful' Lewis can reach 'elite' Lahm level

TNT Sports football expert Joe Cole hailed the "game IQ" of Manchester City youngster Rico Lewis, and expects the versatile 19-year-old to adequately fill in for the injured Rodri.

Rodri, widely regarded as the best holding midfielder in world football, was ruled out for the remainder of the 2024/25 season after suffering an ACL injury in City's 2-2 draw with Arsenal last week. For City's trip to Newcastle live on discovery+ in their first league outing since the injury, Guardiola opted to fill the void with Lewis - who usually operates as an inverted full-back - with the City boss previously touting the youngster as a "little Philipp Lahm". Premier League

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Cole was in agreement with Guardiola's comparison between Lewis and eight-time Bundesliga champion.

"Now Pep's said it, I can see it," Cole said. "For your manager to say that about you, because Philipp Lahm was elite.

"I think he was the first full-back who transitioned into midfield and was elite in both positions.

"World Cup winner, multiple Bundesliga [titles], Champions League winner. Fantastic player.

"I played against him actually, an England v Germany game, one of the first times he went into midfield and he was so good."

Cole went on to praise the City teenager for his seamless transition into Guardiola's side.

The former Chelsea forward added: "Rico Lewis can be that [good]. There's a long way to go, but the way he's been coached, his game IQ, the way he receives the ball, the way he can just walk into this Pep side and look like you've been there for years. Fantastic.

"He's a wonderful player and that [comparison to Lahm] is massive praise from your manager."

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PEP WILL 'ENJOY' CHALLENGE OF RODRI INJURY 'MORE THAN HE ADVERTISES' - LESCOTT

Fellow TNT Sports expert and former City defender Joleon Lescott feels Guardiola will "enjoy" the challenge of dealing with Rodri's absence "more than he advertises to the general public."

The former Barcelona boss has led City to four consecutive Premier League titles and Rodri has been a crucial squad member in that process.

The former Atletico Madrid midfielder has established himself as one of the best players in world football and was named Euro 2024 player of the tournament after Spain's summer triumph.

And while his absence will put a huge dent in City's hopes of defending their league title, Lescott feels Guardiola will relish the challenge of dealing with adversity.

"I think he'll enjoy it more than he advertises to the general public," Lescott said. "Rodri is a massive loss, we all know that.

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"But he [Guardiola] has had countless situations where we've said [Kevin] De Bruyne is irreplaceable, (or) how do you replace [Sergio] Aguero. He played a season without a number nine, he enjoys those challenges."

The former City defender also feels the long-term nature of Rodri's injury could be a blessing in disguise, with no likelihood of searching for short-term fixes.

"For Rodri to be out, not in a disrespectful way, I think it helps that he's out for the season," Lescott added.

"If he was out for a period of time you kind of look at the fixtures around that and see he's going to be out for three months, so what can we do in between that. How do we pick up points here? How do we avoid losing these games?

"You know you have to fill the void - everyone's got to contribute in different ways and I think that's important to recognise as well.

"We can't anticipate someone doing Rodri's job in the way Rodri did it. You've got to understand that [Ilkay] Gundogan, [Mateo] Kovacic or Rico Lewis will all do it hopefully as efficiently as Rodri, but in a different way."

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