Reigan Heskey is impressing in the Under-17 World Cup with England and he has named a current and a former Manchester City winger as his idols.
Reigan Heskey has been in great form during the Under-17 World Cup
Manchester City’s teenager winger Reigan Heskey looks up to Phil Foden and Raheem Sterling as his footballing idols – despite looking down on them from his sizeable height advantage.
The 17-year-old is impressing in the Under-17 World Cup at the moment, with three goals and three assists in the group stage to secure England a last-16 tie against South Korea on Saturday.
Heskey made his City debut alongside brother Jaden in the Carabao Cup in October and there are high hopes that he could challenge for a first-team place at the Etihad, having trained with Pep Guardiola’s squad earlier this season.
At 6ft, Heskey is tall for a winger, but having spent time playing across the front three during his time in the academy, he now looks settled as a left-sided player cutting in on his right foot.
He looks up to Sterling as someone who played a similar role and loves watching Foden of City’s current crop, even though he has a height advantage on both.
“Phil Foden is a great player, Sterling as well is one of my role models in football,” Heskey said.
“I’m quite a different profile. I’m quite tall and they’re both a bit shorter than me, nimbler. I enjoy playing off the left. I used to play across the front three in the younger age groups. But the left is where I find myself most comfortable. I can improve everything – even the cutting in on my right foot, which I’m quite good at.”
Heskey will look to keep England on track for World Cup glory in Qatar and he is loving his first experience of a major tournament, with his eyes already on lifting the prize later this month.
“Yeah, it does feel like a home away from home,” he said. “Having the people here that you already know from the club, growing up with them, it’s made it easier for us.
“It’s good to play different teams and countries that we haven’t played before. Just being able to see different countries as well, and see how they play.
“I watched a few of the Under-21 games in the summer. Seeing how they performed, winning the Euros, it was good for us. It’s given us motivation.
“We want to win it, but we want to take it game by game and see how far we can get. We’ve got a good team and good players. Hopefully, some of us can make it to the seniors.”
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