LOS ANGELES – Jonathan Lewis supports Manchester City, idolizes Jack Harrison and hails from a college program renowned for playing cultured possession soccer.
That all might suggest that the fleet-footed attacker is a natural fit for New York City FC, who traded a substantial stack of general allocation money to the Chicago Fire in order to nab the University of Akron product with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft. But the circumstances of his selection were anything but straightforward.
“They interviewed me yesterday, last-minute,” said Lewis, “so I kind of had a fishy feeling about something – it was so last-minute.
“Going third is big – I'm just happy, very happy. I never would've expected it.”
A US youth international who inked a Generation adidas contract after the league's initial bank of GA signings was unveiled, Lewis describes himself as a “late bloomer” who picked up the game late and did not see a professional career as a realistic possibility until a year or two ago.
“I only started playing soccer in fifth grade and I only made my first national-team appearance last summer, when I was 18,” he said. “I played in a club team, I didn't actually go into an academy team until I was about 17. I just happened to get noticed later. But I just kept working hard on my own and eventually things started to come together.”
NYCFC parted with $250,000 in GAM to grab Lewis – making him an historical footnote as part of the first MLS transaction in which allocation sums were specified – and he believes he can make a smooth transition into City coach Patrick Vieira's methodical style of play, even if playing time is elusive early on. He's likely to slot into a wing role with the Blues, though is also capable of playing up top.
“It's a great club, they play great football and have great players,” said Lewis, who says he wakes up early on weekend mornings to watch NYCFC's sister club Manchester City and other European giants on television.
“I definitely think that I'm going to be able to fit into their system very quickly. I watch Jack Harrison a lot, he's one of my idols in MLS, so I think [I can be] a right-footed Jack Harrison, hopefully … I'm just glad I'm going to get to learn from great attackers like Jack Harrison and David Villa, Andrea Pirlo. I'm going to learn a lot.”
Somewhat ironically, Lewis spent time in the academy system of the Fire, the team that traded his pick to NYCFC.
“I used to play for the Fire academy in 2014, I played there for a little bit but I was never able to become a Homegrown there,” he said. “But I get to be part of something big now too, so I'm very happy about that.”
