Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has backed English winger Jack Grealish to regain his form after a rather mediocre season filled with ‘struggles’. Grealish, 28, was signed by Man City for a club-record £100 million from Aston Villa in the 2021 summer transfer window following an excellent season in which he scored six goals and assisted a further ten goals for the Villans. While the England international has shown flashes of the talent that prompted City to invest heavily in him, he has struggled with consistency over extended periods. Consequently, he has found it challenging to establish himself as a key player for the team. This season has been particularly tough for the Birmingham-born winger.
Last season, Grealish was an important member of the historic treble-winning team, starting 41 games across all competitions, including the FA Cup final and the UEFA Champions League final. However, this season he has been used sparingly, starting just 24 games in all competitions and coming off the bench in a further 10 games. To make matters worse, Grealish has registered just three goals and three assists in the 34 games he has played this season. While he started both legs against Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final, he was on the pitch for only 10 minutes in the Premier League in May. He was also an unused substitute in Man City’s FA Cup final loss to Manchester United.
Despite these challenges, Pep remains confident in Grealish’s ability to return to last season’s form and play a significant role for Man City next season. He also attributed some of Grealish’s struggles to the emergence of new signing Jeremy Doku. “He’s struggled this season and Jeremy has made an incredible step forward, as everyone has seen in the last games. But Jack will be back at the level of last season, I’m pretty sure.”
