Jack Grealish made his 150th appearance for Manchester City on Wednesday night. He touched the ball once and was on the Tottenham Hotspur pitch for 342 seconds as a substitute – most of which was spent waiting for a VAR check.
It was unclear whether or not England manager Thomas Tuchel, who was in the Tottenham stands, had stayed until the bitter end. But if he did, he would not have got any more than a glimpse of Grealish.
Tuchel names his first England squad on Friday, March 14 and if Grealish is to play a significant part in the German’s bid to win us the World Cup, then he has to leave City this summer.
Injuries have undoubtedly interrupted Grealish this season – he was City’s best player in front of Tuchel in the first leg of the Champions League play-off defeat against Real Madrid before he was forced off after 30 minutes – but he needs to be the main man again.
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Moved to the middle against Nottingham Forest in December, Grealish was arguably City’s best player in his team’s 3-0 win, but he has not played there since and is unlikely to do so again with any regularity.
Jeremy Doku was preferred to him on the left against Tottenham and produced a man-of-the-match performance, while the arrival of Omar Marmoush, who can play centrally or off the flanks, has provided more traffic in Grealish’s path.
Those who argue that Grealish is not the same player he was at Aston Villa often overlook the fact that the club’s former manager Dean Smith played him as a central midfielder with licence to roam – everything went through him.
He has never had that freedom under Pep Guardiola, despite being signed for £100 million, but still managed to make a huge contribution to the 2022-23 treble-winning season during which he played the most football of his City career, collecting Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup medals.
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Having played for 2,063 Premier League minutes in the treble-winning season, Grealish saw his playing time halved last season and has started just six League games this campaign, totalling 605 minutes – comfortably the fewest of his senior career so far.
Grealish will turn 30 in September and, having unfortunately missed out on a place in England’s European Championships squad last summer, may recognise that 2026 will probably be his last chance at another stab at a World Cup.
James Maddison was also left out of the Euros squad by former England manager Gareth Southgate. But while the Tottenham midfielder is being given every opportunity to win his place back, Grealish is having to hope that Tuchel proves himself to be a head coach who takes the past into consideration.
Grealish was excellent under interim head coach Lee Carsley, scoring against Ireland and Finland, but competition for places in attacking positions is fierce. Anthony Gordon and Cole Palmer went to the Euros ahead of him, while Morgan Rogers scored a brilliant goal for Grealish’s former club Villa in front of Tuchel on Tuesday night.
There are those who would love nothing more than to see Grealish make an emotional return to his boyhood club, but the way in which the home crowd booed him during City’s defeat there this season, may well signal that he would be wiser to seek a fresh challenge.
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Big names on big wages have not found it easy to find the perfect moves to reignite their careers – just ask Raheem Sterling, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford – but Grealish still has plenty to offer if he can somehow find the right home.
Tottenham came within a whisker of signing Grealish from Villa when Mauricio Pochettino was in charge and he certainly has the style and the swagger that Spurs fans would take to. But the club’s wage constraints would make that particular move extremely difficult.
Chelsea have looked to add to their options on the left and Grealish would undoubtedly improve Enzo Maresca’s side. But the west Londoners have already been burned by the failure of Sterling to live up to his price tag and wages after moving from City, and the philosophy has been to recruit younger talent.
Maybe a move abroad would be best. Vincent Kompany is said to be a fan of Grealish and is not short of a contact or two at City. Harry Kane would no doubt give his England team-mate a glowing endorsement and a switch to Bayern Munich would guarantee more medals to go alongside greater playing time.
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Saudi Arabia would see Grealish as an unmissable potential coup if he were made available and following Ivan Toney on an even bigger contract than he currently has at City may well be tempting.
But Grealish is still far too talented and has too many years at the top left in him to count his cash in a league nobody cares about or spend even more time on the City bench when Tuchel should be watching him. He has to move this summer, but that may be easier said than done.
