For the biggest game in Manchester City’s history, Jack Grealish was given a starting berth while Phil Foden, Julián Alvarez and Riyad Mahrez were on the bench. Grealish played the full 90 minutes of the Champions League triumph against Inter because Pep Guardiola had the greatest faith in the attacking midfielder, but three years on he is at risk of being yesterday’s man. That trust dwindled, not helped by injuries, and Grealish made only 17 Premier League starts over the next two seasons under Guardiola.
City wanted him to leave in the summer of 2025, and Everton provided the solution, taking him on loan and borrowing him again for this season. Six Everton appearances into this campaign he was left out of the squad for Thursday’s Carabao Cup win against Newcastle after missing training on Monday. Everton went public with the fact that there had been “a breach of club discipline”.
Grealish is 31 and has 39 England caps. He is supposed to be a senior player but his career has involved far too many indiscretions. Breaking lockdown rules, a driving ban and more than once becoming a viral sensation for being pictured inebriated out and about have painted an unwanted picture.
Learning from mistakes is part of life but Grealish’s indiscipline is apparently not dwindling with age. Guardiola warned him over his behaviour, dropping him in 2021 for a match against Newcastle after he and Foden arrived for training worse for wear. Grealish is aware of his flaws, which is a starting point, but dealing with them is a separate matter.
Sometimes, I’ll be honest with you, I probably haven’t picked the right times.” Initially at Everton it seemed Grealish could be the poster boy of a new era. There were winners against Crystal Palace and Bournemouth by early December of last year and he had accumulated six assists in 20 Premier League appearances before his season was ended in mid-January by a foot injury. Grealish had been inconsistent, though.
He has not played more than 28 league games in a season since 2019-20 at Aston Villa, which should concern him. There were reservations at Everton about taking Grealish back this summer but Iliman Ndiaye’s sale to City made it a pragmatic move to fill the void. Grealish had carried out pre-season under Enzo Maresca, who gave him chances in the Community Shield and on the opening day against Bournemouth.
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