Pep Guardiola and Manchester City could have some serious work to do amid claims Jack Grealish already wants to leave the Etihad and has told his agent to secure him a new club.
Grealish became an icon at boyhood club Aston Villa, playing 213 games for them and scoring 32 goals. He was also their captain and helped to drag them through some tough times, including promotions and relegations.
The winger’s best season with Aston Villa came in 2019-20. He bagged 10 goals and eight assists in 41 outings. This helped the Villans narrowly avoid relegation to the Championship, as well as reach the Carabao Cup final. They lost the Wembley clash to Manchester City.
Grealish shocked Villa fans last August by joining City in a £100million transfer. This made him the most expensive British player of all time, ahead of Harry Maguire and Jadon Sancho.
The move came just 11 months after Grealish had penned a new five-year contract with Villa. But it included a release clause which, if met by a Champions League club, the West Midlands outfit would have to accept.
City did just that and the Englishman went on to make 39 appearances under Guardiola last season. However, he couldn’t replicate his Villa form and only had a hand in 10 goals.
Many pundits tried to explain what went wrong for Grealish during his debut season at City. Some thought it was because he wasn’t getting the ball enough.
At Villa, the 27-year-old was the main man. But this isn’t the case at City, as they can also rely on the likes of Kevin de Bruyne and Phil Foden for attacking inspiration.
Other analysts suggested Grealish was struggling to come to terms with Guardiola’s tactics. At Villa he had free reign, but this is not really allowed under his new boss.
Grealish has had a disappointing start to the new season. He did, however, open his goalscoring account by finding the net in City’s recent league win against Wolves.
Shock twist as Jack Grealish ‘wants out’
90Min come in with a big update on the wide man’s future. They claim he doesn’t want to be with the Citizens anymore and has told those close to him that he is likely to move on next year.
With this in mind, Grealish has supposedly told his representative to try and find him a new club ready for the summer transfer window.
The report doesn’t mention anything else, such as which teams may want to land him or how much he could cost.
Grealish’s City deal runs for another five years. Given this and the fact they have just spent £100m on him, only a handful of other sides would be able to afford him.
This is a huge revelation which could have a big impact on Guardiola. But it’s also unlikely the star will actually be leaving his current team next summer.
He is still relatively early into his City adventure and surely won’t want to give up on it just yet. Grealish has huge ability and can turn things around, he just needs to continue being given game time.
Plus, the England international has always dreamed about winning trophies and playing in the Champions League. He is realising this dream at City, so for him to leave now would be a huge shock.
Meanwhile, City have reportedly decided to wait until next year to sort out the future of experienced defender.
