Jack Grealish Facing Biggest Test Of His Man City Career

Jack Grealish was one of the stars of Manchester City’s Treble-winning season. The winger was a key figure as the Etihad Stadium outfit won the Champions League, Premier
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League and FA Cup, silencing critics who had written him as a flop following his £100m transfer from Aston Villa in the summer of 2021.

This season, though, Grealish is facing a new challenge. The 28-year-old has started just two Premier League matches for City so far with new signing Jeremy Doku currently favoured by Pep Guardiola for his position on the left side of the attack. Grealish is in the midst of a fight for his place in the team.

Doku has hit the ground running since joining Manchester City from Rennes in the summer transfer window. The 21-year-old has already found the back of the net for his new team in the Champions League and Premier League and has given Guardiola a different type of attacker to deploy down the left wing.

Injury has also been a factor in Grealish’s early-season struggles, but the England international hasn’t taken the opportunities that have come his way. Against RB Leipzig in the Champions League before the international break, for example, Grealish failed to make an impact before Doku replaced him off the bench and scored and assisted.

Grealish had to make adjustments to his game to suit Guardiola’s style of play during his first season at the Etihad Stadium. He took too many touches of the ball when the City boss wanted him to drive at opposition defenders. Over time, though, Grealish learned to be more decisive in his final third actions.

Gareth Southgate included Grealish in his England squad for the upcoming matches against Australia and Italy despite the winger’s inconsistent form at club level. The hope is Grealish will be able to use the national team to kick-start his season. After all, he has frequently produced his best form for his country.

“I am not saying it is hard to get motivated [after winning the treble] -you can’t say that,” Grealish responded when asked if he had suffered from an emotional drop-off following last season’s Treble-winning success with Manchester City. “But when you’ve done it, it’s kind of like: ‘What now?’”

Surprise back-to-back defeats against Wolves and Arsenal have left Manchester City two points adrift of the top of the Premier League table. Guardiola’s team have been knocked out of their stride recently, but a fit and firing Grealish could be key to getting them back on the straight and narrow.