To say that Jack Grealish is missing would be a bit of an exaggeration. The Englishman is not a regular starter, but he always appears on Pep Guardiola’s match sheets, a big fan of turnovers thanks to his oversized squad. It comes in for at least a few minutes most of the time. A trend is nevertheless observed. The international (38 caps, 4 goals) plays less and less with Manchester City, even though the club has been plagued in recent weeks by injuries, including some to important players, de facto limiting rotations.
We of course think of Kevin de Bruyne but also of Rodri, two indisputable starters in recent seasons. Even the long absence of Oscar Bobb should have allowed the child from Birmingham to benefit from more playing time. But now, after 15 days in the Premier League and soon 6 in the Champions League, Grealish only has 746 minutes of playing time in all competitions (14 appearances in total, for 2 assists). He still hasn’t scored and that’s a lasting problem. His last goal in the Cityzens jersey dates back to December 16… 2023.
No goals in a year
It’s been almost a year to the day since he didn’t find the net. He then completed a series of 3 goals in his last 3 championship matches. The only ones for its 2023/2024 season. Of course, we should not stop at such statistics, especially since the former darling of Aston Villa has never been a goalscorer. But he is going through his longest crossing of the desert since the start of his career. Injuries haven’t helped him either, between an ischio problem (August 2023), then a groin strain (February 2024) which turned into a deeper problem.
Since then, he has only been able to string together two series of three consecutive matches. Gareth Southgate did not call him to the Euro. The cumulative 60 days of absence have passed. This season, the 29-year-old left winger has only played three games in their entirety (or almost). Pep Guardiola’s latest little discovery, he played him in the double midfield pivot alongside Gündogan this week against Nottingham Forest, rather with satisfaction. “He played very well and we are very happy for him and the teamthen detailed the coach. I hope he will be fit for the next matches“.
A new role to relaunch it?
The Catalan partly stole this idea from Lee Carsley. England’s interim coach moved Grealish to number 10 in September where he performed well. He even scored against Ireland. Guardiola took it over, aligning it in this central position, a notch lower. “Our football is always built from the midfield. Jack gave us that pace, he controlled the game, broke the lines and showed his quality. He has the skills to play defensive midfielder and I am very happy for him”. His salvation will perhaps come through this.
If he is undoubtedly not decisive enough for an offensive player, the man with the headband undoubtedly remembers that he has already shone in a role of free electron in midfield. It was the time at Aston Villa where Dean Smith did not hesitate to replace it in certain matches. Performing at Manchester City requires more demands, especially when you were the subject of a €117 million transfer in the summer of 2021. Determining during the fabulous treble of 2023, the Birmingham native could be synonymous with recovery of his club in this new role. In any case, it is in this position that he allowed the Skyblues to end a series of 7 games without a victory.
