Although they were not supposed to appear in Molineux last weekend, it felt striking that two of the best players of Manchester City were in situ and with the team anyway.
Rodri, owner of the Ballon d'Or or until October, spoke with Phil Foden while the couple stood on the touchline and had looked at global warming, after 24 hours earlier traveled to the midlands with Pep Guardiola.
There was a word or two for colleagues when City entered the dressing room and then the two midfielders kicked every ball during an early evening victory on wolves that turned out to be a spring in the cap for the awarded Academy of the club. They have spent more than £ 300 million this calendar year, but the children are still doing well.
Rico Lewis went for the first van Erling Haaland – made a bustling square ball to look so easy that control over the technology has hardly earned a mention – before Oscar Bobb strived for engineer Tijjani Reijnders' Maiden City goal. The recurring James Trafford kept a clean slate on debut, Nico O'Reilly came from the bank.
Foden and Rodri went in later for the last address of Guardiola and the first made a Beeline for the quartet of the Academy. Like an older brother, a nice uncle.
“Phil came by and spoke to us,” says Lewis. “And was like” I can't wait for us to all be all five, all play together. 'That is the dream in the future, we all together.
'We were all raised here and through the same process. It is so easy to relate to the people who have been there for the longest period – and at the same age. Hopefully there will also be some young person with us in the future. '
FODEN has been the senior of Lewis and O'Reilly for five years; Three from Bobb and Trafford. The executive team of the city has openly discussed the utopia to possess a core of Mancunians. How feasible that is, in view of a continuous need to win and therefore no time is given to develop young people, is under discussion. And that is before the absurd perverse lure of PSR's pure profit when selling players used by their teenagers.
That is two of the reasons why Lewis is not fighting in another world on Saturday for a starting berth against Tottenham Hotspur. Instead, he travels to Crystal Palace as a forest -servant from Nottingham or is committed to Hoffenheim for Bayer Leverkusen. Even Bayern Munich had followed the 20-year-old for a while. Brighton was always interested, but their model would not allow a Buyback clause, something that is non-consumable for the city.
Lewis was relatively close to waving farewell to the place where he has been called at home since the age of eight. Forest negotiated all week in combination with Landing James McATEE – in the conviction that a deal could be closed last Thursday. There were several rounds of conversations between city director of football Hugo Viana, counterparts in the city ground and those in the Lewis camp.
Lewis was called to the Guardiola office last Friday and clearly stated that abandoning was not his preference – something that he repeated at Wolves a day later after a surprise start. After playing Padel on the training field on Sunday, Lewis came across Viana and spent it similar. Those two conversations crystated the process, really changed things and he effectively agreed a new five -year contract within 48 hours.
“For me, when I play for the city, under this manager … it is a dream to be in the first place in this position,” says Lewis. “If all these other things go on, it's what it is.”
This whirlwind summarizes the hectic character of the Premier League transfer window and has now had a knock-on effect in Guardiola's full defensive ranks elsewhere. City still has to sell, the future of Manuel Akanji is now suddenly emerging.
The way in which Lewis has treated itself in recent weeks indicates great adulthood and intelligence of a man whose gcse's were all figures were sevens to nines. A and A* across the board in old money. And it must mean something that when City organizes community football school sessions during the summer holidays, they can call a local boy like this. Someone articulated, someone who is tailored to Guardiola's style. Someone who looks and sounds like the children who run around in bibs.
Upon arrival at the city center of Trinity High School, Lewis is immediately surrounded by 40 children. “Before I get a little nervous,” he grins, a touch sheepish. The children sing his name while talking to Daily Mail sports, so no problems there. 'I am still at the start of my career, not everyone knows who I am. It's great to see them happily, shout and laugh. The coaches told me that there are a few who have a little talent. I think things like this will help them stick out in that sense, because some staff members come from the city. '
This session, part of an initiative that offers hundreds of children who have access to free school meals the chance to enjoy more than 400 hours of coaching, is actually financed by Guardiola's team. The five -member leadership group, now led by Bernardo Silva, decided an annual donation to community events during meetings with the hierarchy and the city, uses six figures from the pot to set up this summer schedule.
“If you are in primary school, if you are small, the only thing you look at is football – well, in my case anyway,” says Lewis. “It would have been great to see football players coming in. It is a bit of a complete circle moment that I can come in and make these children happy. “
He would like to participate a bit, take it with you in a considerably more relaxed state, in a considerably more relaxed state than when he came to Jorgen Strand Larsen on Saturday. Lewis was shown that the international teammate of Haaland threw away in short spicy scenes and that needle is something that is occasionally seen by someone who, although small in shape, holds his own and 30 periods undefeated as a Thai boxer. He previously had a run-in with supporters of Crystal Palace and pointed the retribution on Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg when the former Spurs man chased him for an entire game.
Perhaps steel is a product of its environment, which has been in the Muay Thai Gym of Dad Rick in Whitefield since the age of three. Lewis agrees that perhaps yes, that has an impact but is not fully committed to an answer.
“What happened during the weekend was especially my fault because I kicked the ball away,” Lewis grins. 'We scored, the ball came and I kicked him away and didn't even think, which was clearly stupid! He became a bit frustrated. We spoke after the game, he said sorry, I said sorry.
“Normally I don't put myself into a fight. [But] You have to support yourself to a certain extent when someone picks you up, you have to show that you are not there to be picked and bullied. '
He scribbles, Lewis. Remains for recognition, pieces for his team. He is this merger of a full back and central midfielder, probably the only Englishman who understood the concept well, and after a rough season last year – who ended up in the way of the FA Cup Final Squad and a hard red card on the Club World Cup – he is ready for now and the future. That future, he is strongly insisted, is in midfield.
'It's all about timing, getting better with and without the ball. I think it will come on time. As you saw at the weekend, I played with the ball.
'Of course without the ball you can't play everyone in midfield. That is what is unique for my position is that I can do both. For me, in terms of playing time, it will help.
'The way we are structured is that everyone supports each other. Take the weekend, it's John [Stones] that fills in, Nico [Gonzalez] Drops and I finally get back in position. It is more that we are built to maintain the attack, so we defend no transition, transition, transition. '
Transition is Kryptonite of the city. Has always been to Guardiola. And the basketball way of defeat by Al Hilal in America indicated that it remains a problem. The arrival of Tottenham in the Etihad Stadium should offer a decent barometer about how much of the work has been completed by Pep Libnders since then to bloom.
What is clear, and this was clear with the roles that Rodri and Foden played at Wolves is an elevated togetherness. Easy to say when winning and still in the summer months of course, but Lewis reflects the positivity around the moral spread by others.
“It has a lot to do with the training,” he says. 'As soon as we returned, there was a different atmosphere with the new staff and the manager.
'We all had the feeling that we had … Not something to make up for last season – of course we all know that it was not the level that we want it to be – but we all just felt hungry.
'Now someone has the Premier League against their name, we are chasing instead of defending. You can just see that everyone came back. '
He is generally horizontal, but perhaps he has ignited some extra fire in Lewis last week or two.