Joe Cole: Lewis is an outstanding footballer & gives England another real option

Rico Lewis has been labelled as an 'outstanding' player by Joe Cole after making his senior England debut in Monday's 1-1 draw against North Macedonia.

The Manchester City youngster was given the nod by Gareth Southgate to start at left-back for England in the absence of the injured Luke Shaw and Ben Chilwell as the Three Lions topped their qualifying group.

Lewis celebrated his first England cap just a day before his 19th birthday, but endured a difficult start after being deemed to have given away a penalty following VAR's intervention.

Having already rose through the ranks at Man City to become a mainstay in Pep Guardiola's first-team squad, Lewis boasts an adaptability to play in both defence and midfield.

His versatility gives Southgate another option to consider when the time comes to pick his final squad for next year's European Championship and former England international, Cole, hailed Lewis as 'outstanding' after Monday's game.

'Outstanding,' Cole told Channel 4 when analysing Lewis' performance against North Macedonia.

'Pep Guardiola waxed lyrical about him and tonight he was so difficult to pick up for the opposition.

'He allowed England to build through the lines much better than they did against Malta. He was effective. I think he is an outstanding footballer and given Gareth Southgate another real option in that position.'

Fellow former professional Joleon Lescott echoed similar comments and hailed the City youngster for not looking out of place alongside his more experienced team-mates.

Lescott added: 'He came in and it didn't look like his debut and that is the biggest compliment. He showed a lot of composure and even the penalty didn't affect him.'

Lewis demonstrated his maturity after recovering from the