Rico Lewis wants to stay at Manchester City

Amid speculation that he would follow James McAtee in making the switch from Manchester to Nottingham, Rico Lewis has said to Tyrone Marshall of the Manchester Evening News that he wishes to remain at Manchester City.

"I've always wanted to play for City. It's my dream club."

If City sell Rico Lewis this summer, it will be against the player's wishes. He has no desire to leave the Etihad #mcfc https://t.co/mFZsWyLiKA

— Tyrone Marshall (@TyMarshall_MEN) August 17, 2025

Transfer speculation

City’s attempts to offload players in order to trim the squad to a size that manager Pep Guardiola will be more happy with have seen a number of confirmed and rumoured transfers out of the club in the news in recent weeks. Fabrizio Romano reported on Friday that Nottingham Forest were hopeful of adding Lewis to their addition of McAtee, and that the midlands club believed the player wanted the move. Forest were interested in signing Lewis for a similar fee to the £30m they paid for his now-former teammate.

🚨🌳 Nottingham Forest feel Rico Lewis is keen on the move and want to push to get the deal done with Man City.

Negotiations ongoing between the clubs as initial bid has already been sent, not enough yet to convince City…

…but #NFFC insist as they really want Lewis. pic.twitter.com/xOhIQIQToz

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 15, 2025

Starting vs Wolves

Despite these rumours, Rico Lewis made a surprise start for City against Wolves, in a team that saw Savinho and Ederson, both also linked with moves away, excluded from the squad, although City attributed this to an injury to the former and illness for the latter. Lewis put in an impressive performance before being subbed around the hour mark, as City began their bid to reclaim the title in imperious fashion, dominating the game at Molineux to win 4-0.

Wants to stay in Manchester

The morning after this result, Tyrone Marshall published an interview with the player in the Manchester Evening News. In it, Lewis unequivocally states that he wishes to stay at the club, saying:

"For me, I've never, ever seen myself at a different club, I've always wanted to play for City. It's my dream club, and like you see today, when I'm playing with the kind of players that I'm playing with, it brings out the best in me, so I'm so happy.” - Rico Lewis, via Tyrone Marshall, Manchester Evening News.

This will come as a relief to many City fans, who aside from believing him a talented player will not want to see yet another academy product leave the club. This goes especially as Lewis is one of the few to properly break into the first team, with this season potentially being Lewis’s 4th season in Guardiola’s plans.

Conclusion

Between his clear desire to stay and Guardiola’s obvious trust in the player, playing him in a massively important season opener as City began what they will hope to be a more successful season than last. If Lewis’s desire to stay is anything to go by, the squad is far from feeling that their time has come and gone, and will be eager to prove that in the coming months.