OccupiedPalestineBlues
Well-Known Member
He’s understandably naive in defensive situations (positionally suspect + looks a bit frenetic at times) but he’s great in possession and incredibly press-resistant for such a young player.
I think his future lies in midfield.
You’re spot-on Doc, he does have the possession attributes of a midfielder but, then again, Pep likes midfielders in all kinds of positions doesn’t he? iirc He once said he’d play 11 midfielders if he could . . or words to that effect?
Point being that under this manager his midfield attributes don’t detract from his defensive position and all players are required to defend.
As example; Bernardo Silva is, to my mind at least, as midfield as you can get . . but Pep’s played him at leftback.
As things stand I recon that Rico will continue to develop as a leftback. He‘ll need to polish up his defensive awareness / positioning, as you mentioned, but he’s only 18 so he’s got time enough . I’m excited about how he could develop from here and IMO he could take a similar path to Foden. I hope so anyhow.