Kyle Walker sends advice to Man City teammate Rico Lewis amid breakthrough season

Manchester City defender Kyle Walker has praised Rico Lewis' 'brain' as the Blues youngster continues to impress in his breakthrough season at the Etihad.

Lewis has made 19 appearances in all competitions for Pep Guardiola's side this campaign, with the 18-year-old even getting on the scoresheet in the Champions League win over RB Leipzig in November of last year. The City youngster has performed well when featuring for the first team, but his game time has been limited in recent weeks.

The full-back has received widespread praise for his ability to operate in a variety of different positions, and Walker has lauded Lewis for his understanding of the game. While nine of his appearances have come at right-back, he has also played on the left and as a defensive midfielder under Guardiola.

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Speaking about Lewis on the Man City Podcast, Walker said: "I think Rico's unbelievable, I think his brain and how his brain works, for a young player, is fantastic. He's going to be under pressure, he's going to have setbacks. I've always said to any youngster that I've spoken to, it's about the top 10 per cent.

"We all can play football or we wouldn't be here, but when you get the knockback or when you do play really well and something knocks you back, how do you then react off of that? I've seen a lot of players in my time come and go.

"Where, technically, I think they were better than me, but I feel just mentally, I don't think they had it and I don't think they ever wanted to ever push themselves that extra 10 per cent, whether that was in the gym or in the field."

Lewis was on the bench for the 4-1 victory over Premier League title rivals Arsenal on