Up until Saturday, Kyle Walker hadn’t kicked a ball for Manchester City. In that time, Rico Lewis has excelled in the right-back position, even playing left-back at Brentford.
His form kept Walker on the bench, something that the City captain said he had no complaints about.
“When you’re not selected it’s train hard and get on with it,” Walker told BBC Radio Manchester.
The best example of this is how Walker conducted himself during the international break.
Very few of the first team were not selected. Ilkay Gundogan has since retired from international football. But instead of a break, both trained with City’s Elite Development Squad (EDS).
“It’s important. I’m the captain of the team. If the captain goes to play with, as I know it, the reserves then everyone can do it,” Walker said.
“If you need the minutes in the legs, and can pass on your experience to the youth, then why not? Hopefully they benefited from me playing 45 minutes against Buxton.
“No-one is bigger than a game. A game of football is putting minutes in your legs, getting your rhythm. If the club captain can do it then hopefully some of the lads in the first-team squad go and ask and can play as well.”
Ben Wilkinson, EDS head coach, said: “They’ve played 400 to 500 Premier League games and won everything. And they’re still training with these 17, 18, 19-year-olds and their attitude is the best in the session.
“To see the players are still fiercely competitive, the desire to win, the standards.
“It’s one thing us telling them and repeating it to them for years – it’s a lot better when you can see the best players doing it every day, every action.
“The message is a lot more powerful in that moment.”
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