Manchester City’s enigmatic attacker has long been the butt of criticism, but he’s been rising above the detractors

Jack Grealish had the world at his feet while he was playing for Aston Villa. The 27-year-old had a stellar 2020-21 campaign, where he scored six goals and assisted 10 for the club, leading to Pep Guardiola bringing him to Manchester City for £100million.

Although the Blues were able to win the Premier League trophy in the 2021-22 season, many felt that Grealish was one of the biggest flops of the transfer window. Despite the criticism, the City player was picked by Gareth Southgate to represent England at the World Cup.

After winning silverware with the club in his very first year at the Etihad, Grealish knew that he still had to put in a lot of work to find a regular spot in the team. His natural flair and dribbling has always been impressive, but the final third was where things seemed to go missing.

Aside from criticising Grealish for his performance levels, pundits have often called out the 27-year-old for his diving. Simon Jordan, during a recent discussion about him on talkSPORT, said: “This Alice band-wearing charlatan irritates me. I used to watch football when people like Georgie Best, Pele, Eusebio and Johan Cruyff and Diego Maradona and even Ryan Giggs and Thierry Henry used to go past players, they didn’t look to go over players, just go past them and create space and go beat another player, he doesn’t do that.”

Accusations about diving have followed Grealish since his Villa Park days. However, what some people have failed to notice is that the player has come on leaps and bounds since his first year with City.

He may only have two goals and three assists in the league for City, but what he brings to the table is a lot more than that. Grealish’s ability to attract attention from opponents often opens up space for a lot of his teammates. In a City team where players like Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland are present, this opens up a lot of doors.

His creativity in picking passes and moving with the ball has helped City to attack against low-blocking defensive teams. Over the winter transfer window, there were rumours that Grealish could be on his way out of Manchester to facilitate a move for Rafael Leao. However, his recent performances would no doubt force Pep Guardiola to rethink if he needs to let go of his most expensive signing.

Grealish’s assist for Nathan Ake for City’s goal against Arsenal in the FA Cup is one example of how dangerous he can be. After Julian Alvarez’s piledriver hit the woodwork, the ball fell to Grealish. He tried to penetrate further into the penalty box, but Takehiro Tomiyasu and Bukayo Saka doubled up on him.

Instead of giving up the ball under pressure, Grealish found Ake, who placed the ball into the bottom corner to help City take the lead and win the FA Cup fixture. The breakdown of the goal shows how big an influence Grealish has on City’s game.

City are currently in a Financial Fair Play battle to clear their name and avoid a potentially catastrophic punishment. In one scenario, it could lead to a lot of big names moving out of the club and potentially no signings coming in.

Grealish would surely not be one of the candidates to be let go. He is a stellar player and having found his form, the winger himself would no doubt want to stay at City and prove that the club made the right move by bringing him in for such a hefty fee.

SOURCE: manchestereveningnews.co.uk