MANCHESTER-Before the FA Cup final, Jack Grealish had a meeting with Pep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City, where he was instructed to go back to his best before the following season.
Will Pep unlock Grealish’s potential?
Close to the player who, like all the people contacted for this story, requested to remain anonymous in order to preserve relationships, Grealish acknowledges that his 2023–24 season was essentially a write-off. He struggled to move on from City’s triple last year and was plagued by a series of injuries and off-field turmoil. Throughout the 2023–24 campaign, Guardiola has expressed his worries about Grealish on many occasions. When the City players were granted three days off to unwind in between crucial matches against Wolves and Fulham at the beginning of May, things became tense. Grealish’s performance fell significantly short of Guardiola’s expectations when they returned for training. Guardiola then openly attributed the winger’s absence from the team for the Fulham match to sickness. Grealish was included in the 33-man provisional squad but did not play a minute in the four matches that followed. As a result, he now needs to focus on earning a spot in Gareth Southgate’s England team. Because of his dismal season at City, when he started only 10 Premier League games, it is still unclear if he will make the cut. Grealish has always been utilized by Southgate only seldom throughout competitions.
Can Grealish shine at Man city?
Grealish only started one of the remaining seven games after swiftly falling out of favor once more after forcing his way back into the starting lineup for crucial games against Real Madrid and Chelsea in April. Throughout the season, Guardiola and Grealish have spoken several times about his form and attitude. Their most recent talk, which took place last week, focused on their plans for the future after the summer. Despite his frustrations and even rage with Grealish this season, Guardiola values the player and person who is at the top of his game. Grealish has been given a challenge by the City boss to return to his peak both on and off the field. There have even been rumors of a possible summer deal involving Tottenham and Bayern Munich. There is no possibility of Grealish leaving the Etihad Stadium in the upcoming months, according to sources close to the player, but this is partially because of his high price tag. After the FA Cup final, Guardiola remarked, “I don’t know what is going to happen but I know some players have to take a decision on whether they stay with us and some players might come.” “Everything is good for next year, according to my sporting director.”
Will Guardiola get the best out of Grealish?
According to skysports, That matters more to Ederson, the goalie, who was supposed to sign a new deal with Al Ittihad of the Saudi Pro League in the spring but is currently considering an offer from them. The Brazilian will stay, according to City, and a new deal is still up for grabs. The future of Kevin De Bruyne is undetermined as well; his representation has contacted San Diego of Major League Soccer. It has also been suggested over the previous three summers that Bernardo Silva would go in search of a fresh challenge. Regarding Grealish, Guardiola said at Wembley on Saturday in a more straightforward manner. As per nytimes, “I don’t feel like I’ve performed well this season at all,” Grealish remarked in an interview with Sky Sports after the team’s championship win on the penultimate day. At many instances, he complimented Guardiola’s assistance in getting him through tough times. Three primary explanations may be roughly attributed to Grealish’s troubles. Firstly, Guardiola saw early on that Grealish was among the few City players whose performance had declined following City’s treble-winning season. The Spaniard had come to terms with the fact that his players might be a little hangover-ridden after their historic triumph, but his belief that Grealish needed more care than most persisted throughout the season.
Is a breakthrough coming for Grealish?
Along with his several ailments that kept him out of action, Grealish suffered from a “horror” leg injury in September, according to people close to the winger. Grealish stated at the time, “Our doctor said it’s the worst dead leg he’s ever seen, by a mile.” “If you have a severe haematoma, which is around six centimeters in size and causes a dead leg, it’s similar to a bruise caused by bleeding outside the blood vessels. Mine measured around 20 centimeters.
