Arsenal legend Ian Wright has praised Manchester City winger Jack Grealish for his performances whilst away with England.
The 29-year-old was deployed in a No.10 role by Three Lions head coach Lee Carsley and Wright said that Grealish was playing much more positively than he does for his club:
“He was trying to be progressive, he was taking people on, he was creating things, exactly what you want to see him doing, getting past people, what we know he’s great at doing.”
“We haven’t seen so much of it at City but we’ve seen in the last couple of games for England and again, it comes down to the opposition but it’s great to see him playing and playing in that style and hopefully, it can be enough to force him into his team.”
Grealish has found things difficult over the last 12 months
There is no doubt that the midfielder’s form has suffered since the start of last season. He has had some niggling injuries but, for the most part, his lack of game time has been down to his own performance levels.
Some say that Grealish is restricted in what he can do in Pep Guardiola’s system but, when you see the likes of Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan thriving in similar positions, you do feel that it is the player’s mentality that is the real problem.
The player needs to take more responsibility at City
When he was at Aston Villa, Grealish was the club’s talisman, so he took it upon himself to make things happen on the pitch. For one reason or another, he has felt less inclined to do that since moving to the Etihad three years ago.
He has recently turned 29 so he is not a young player anymore. If he is to recapture his best form at club level, the winger needs to take inspiration from his England performances.
Find out who is in Manchester City’s first-team squad for the 2024/2025 season here
