Rico Lewis insists England Under-21 boss Lee Carsley is the man to replace Gareth Southgate as the Manchester City hails his 'progressive' brand of football

Manchester City’s Rico Lewis has thrown his backing behind Lee Carsley replacing Gareth Southgate as England manager.

Lewis, who has made five Under-21 appearances under Carsley, was given senior recognition by Southgate last season but then missed out on the European Championship squad.

Carsley – up against the likes of Eddie Howe, Graham Potter and Mauricio Pochettino for the job - is a popular figure among England’s younger contingent.

‘He’s a great coach, especially with his man managing,’ Lewis said. ‘What he says, every time I go with them, is that he wants to play that exciting football.

‘Progressive football, where we score lots of goals while defending really well as a unit. In a way it’s similar to City – we want to have the ball and score as many goals as we can. That’ll be a big benefit if he does go up to the seniors.’

Lewis pointed to a familiarity factor helping Carsley’s cause, adding: ‘He’s a really good person and knows a lot of the players, the younger ones.

‘Similar to Gareth when he took over, he’s going to be somebody that if he goes up to the first team then he’s used to that environment already. I think that will massively benefit him in terms of knowing the players.’