The Treble to the periphery – what’s going on with Jack Grealish?

Jack Grealish is at a crossroads.

Grealish, one of the joint most expensive footballers in the country, should be anticipating Manchester City’s mouthwatering Champions League play-off game against Real Madrid on Tuesday.

But, if recent experience is any guide, he is more likely to be featuring in an FA Cup fourth-round tie at League One Leyton Orient on Saturday.

Since scoring in the 8-0 third-round victory over Salford on January 11, Grealish has not started a game.

Later that month, the 29-year-old was on the bench for Pep Guardiola’s side’s crucial Champions League first-phase match against Club Brugge, which had a half-time lead. But instead of his £100m man, Guardiola turned to relatively untested Brazilian Savinho – a £30.8m signing from Girona last summer – to lead the salvage operation.

Grealish didn’t appear in a single minute.

Because none of the reporters present were surprised, Guardiola was not even asked about it afterward.

Just over a month before the Brugge game, Guardiola delivered a straightforward public message to Grealish, challenging him to prove he deserved to regain his spot and explaining why Savinho was being chosen ahead of him.

He claimed that Savinho is in better shape and overall than Jack, which is why he chose to play Savinho. Do you want the Treble winner, Jack? Yeah I want it, but I try to be honest with myself about that. They must engage in combat.

You can say it’s unfair, they say. If you think that, it’s fine, but you have to prove]to me], ‘ OK, I’m going to fight with Savinho, to deserve to play in that position’, every single day, every single week and every single month. “

Grealish eventually scored against Salford City for his first goal in more than a year despite receiving criticism for it.

He then scored in the Champions League against PSG for the first time since 2021.

But those statistics merely underlined the inescapable sense of drift – and Grealish has not played at all in the three matches that have followed.

Guardiola responded to his question about Grealish’s lack of game time before the FA Cup match against Orient by saying he was “so sorry” that he “had not given him the minutes he” perhaps deserved.

He continued, “I don’t like Jack,” he said. I know his attributes, it’s just the big impact Savinho has had on assists and goals.

Some insiders point out that the entire team has had a difficult season, just like he did with him. They feel Grealish has lost out in Guardiola’s desperate search for solutions to the worst period of his managerial career.

It has been pointed out that Kevin de Bruyne has also been consistently overlooked. They claim that because of the extreme differences between the man who shined for Aston Villa and the current City player.

Indeed, one referred BBC Sport to the recent comments of former England winger Theo Walcott, who last month said: “I see a player who has incredible talent that’s been absolutely coached out of him. I just feel he’s gone away from his strengths. Everything that is Jack Grealish has been trained out of him.”

Others disagree the manager has in some way drilled the creativity out of his player.

Former Villa manager Tim Sherwood, who gave a teenage Grealish his first league start ten years ago and still speaks to him frequently, says, “He’s just got to get on with it.”

Everyone experiences it. He gets into pretty much every other Premier League team. Pep has a lot to do with him, but I have no idea what his problem is.

He knows what to do, but he wants to play. He’s just got to keep working hard. He’s a good pro, and he’ll bounce back. He has never been the “first choice.” I’m not sure who is at City. “

Grealish’s struggles to join the starting lineup for City are not novel. He acknowledged that his 2023-24 campaign had been a “stop-start” at the end of last season.

” We have so many good players here so it’s difficult, “he added”. No other team in the world rotates as frequently as this one, which is beautiful.

However, Guardiola continues to be unsure of his role in Grealish or even how to play him.

As recently as early December, the manager praised his performance after playing him in a central role against Nottingham Forest – the one game in a chronic 13-match spell they did win – and even joked he may have made a mistake by previously using him as a winger.

However, Guardiola made a public suggestion that the player’s standards had fallen, leading to speculation that Grealish might leave in the January transfer window.

So when did Grealish’s fall down the pecking order really begin?

He had been at City’s core for the entire Champions League final victory over Inter Milan in Istanbul just 20 months prior. He had also participated in virtually every aspect of the magnificent FA Cup final victory over Manchester United and the stunning 4-0 victory over Real Madrid.

Grealish then became the face of City’s Treble festivities. He admitted he had reported feeling “a little hungover” for England duty and that his drinking and lack of sleep had received a lot of the attention.

It all brought back memories of Paul Gascoigne’s flamboyance, which has endeared him to fans and team-mates. But it also risked raising concerns with his coaches.

When asked if it was excessively Grealish to party for three days, England manager Gareth Southgate said, “There is a line, “in what many interpreted as a subtle warning to keep the revelry in check.

When asked whether criticisms of the celebrations had irritated him, Grealish replied, “I don’t think it’s a party-boy thing.”

” I would never sit here and lie to you and say ‘ yeah, I don’t drink and I don’t party ‘ because I do… I just enjoy myself, I’m living my dream of playing for the best club in the world in my opinion. I was aware of what I was doing, because that’s how I’m usually a party person.

After the pair were pictured on a night out after a game, Guardiola issued warnings to Grealish and Phil Foden over their conduct in 2021. Both were then dropped, with the manager saying:” I pay a lot of attention to behaviour on and off the pitch. “

There is no proof that Guardiola had any concerns about the post-Treble celebrations, and he defended a group of his players, including Grealish, the following year when similar images started to appear.

Guardiola suggested the winger needed to improve midway through last year and Grealish made an hints about a post-Treble comedown.

” He is the same player, he has the same manager and the way we play has not changed, “he said”. Simply put, his performance is flawless. That is the key.

Grealish certainly seemed more of a free spirit at Aston Villa. Manchester United initially had a chance to get him, but instead chose Dutch international Donny van de Beek. Doku’s arrival in the aftermath of the Champions League victory may have had an impact on him, according to some at the time who was involved with United.

It also felt significant that last May, while praising his manager, Grealish admitted:” I’ve had times this season that I’ve struggled off the pitch – I don’t mind saying that – and he’s been there for me so much. “

He once more mentioned personal issues a few weeks later, saying that “some things happened off the field as well as a lot of,” before adding that “some things happened.” People outside the organization sometimes don’t notice, believing that we are just robots playing football and that we have a life outside of that. And sometimes it’s difficult to deal with that. “

Grealish’s alleged reference to a robbery at his Cheshire home that occurred while some of his family members were present and he was away playing in December 2023, which he claimed was a “traumatic experience” that left him “devastated” at the time.

However, there will be more difficulties in the future.

Grealish was left “absolutely heartbroken” by being left out of Southgate’s Euro 2024 squad – a decision he has since made clear he disagreed with. Several people close to the player told BBC Sport its impact on him should not be underestimated.

One person said, “The treatment that he received from England kicked him sideways and made a real difference in his confidence.” I know that’s had some effect. “

Another, who has worked closely with Grealish, said, “It hit him like a sledgehammer.

Grealish accepted the snub by starting his own summer training camp in the middle of the night using the facilities from Juventus and declining to give him any additional time off. He blatantly wanted to get going, but Norwegian youngster Bobb outperformed him on a pre-season tour in the United States.

England’s interim manager Lee Carsley recalled Grealish – starting him against the Republic of Ireland and Finland in September, then against Finland again the following month, with the City man scoring twice across the three games.

However, Guardiola was also alarmed by his return to the international fold, as the coach was upset that Grealish was chosen again in November despite his fitness struggles.

When players are fit and haven’t struggled for the past one, two, three, or four weeks, Guardiola said at the time, “I’m always pleased for players to go.” In 17 days he didn’t train once… Jack has had two or three setbacks in terms of injuries and could not get his rhythm. Grealish then withdrew.

Guardiola’s pointed remarks would not be his first at City if he had lost confidence in him. Last year, Kalvin Phillips – another England international who struggled to convince his manager, despite costing the club £42m when signed from Leeds in 2022 – admitted he had been hurt by criticism over his weight.

Guardiola later thanked himself, but it is obvious that his ferocity and stringent standards can be costly.

Those who know him claim that he is a well-known face in the dressing room, grateful for what his talent has given him, and a man who doesn’t take himself too seriously. They claim he is also the player most likely to stop and talk to fans on site visits.

Due to the friendship he struck up with young City fan Finlay Fisher, who also has the condition, that led to him celebrating his 2022 World Cup goal in his honor, his sister Hollie, who also has cerebral palsy, was deeply personal. In a recent film posted on the City website, Grealish describes himself as “relativeable.” There’s no filter, “he added.

People who knew him at Villa have described him as a confident yet modest young man who would spend time talking to both the club’s fans and staff, reminiscing about their lives and how they were.

His humanity lied about the media’s opinion of him as attractive, fashionable, and popular. His authenticity came through, “said one who worked with him.

Shaun Derry, who was a 17-year-old on loan at Notts Country at the time of his tenure, says he misses seeing the “old Jack.”

In League One, he made 37 appearances and scored five goals, with Derry seeing first-hand how a young talent developed.

“I felt I saw two Jacks really,” he told BBC Sport. “One was this real young, immature kid who needed to quickly understand what we was looking to do at Notts County. Of course there was an immature Jack, he was 17.

“So it’s really easy to understand looking back now, what that looked like, but there was an unbelievable confidence and bravery and individuality on the pitch.

When he looks back on his career, he’ll see an absolute top level one, championships, experiences, and international football. People will look back and likely remember Jack more fondly than they do now.

Grealish never pushed to leave Villa, his boyhood club, even after Tottenham circled following the club’s relegation in 2016.

He stayed to help them win the Premier League in 2019, and he is credited with helping Villa recover from what he called “inspiring” with his unwavering belief in his talent.

However, some close to Grealish also feel Guardiola simply doesn’t ‘ get ‘ the England international. that he hasn’t gotten his exercise.

If the manager stopped trying to, Grealish would be concerned. And with the coach committed to City for another two seasons after this, the next few weeks will shape whether Grealish is there with him or not.

Former Premier League striker Chris Sutton responded, “I think it is pretty simple.” Jack is a smart, mature kid who knows how to prove himself to Pep and how to play well.

“You suspect with what has gone on that he may be surplus to requirements in the summer, but he always seems a decent guy who accepts his situation, and he knows he needs game time to show he has a future with City”.

Grealish became a father for the first time in 2024 when his partner Sasha Attwood gave birth to a daughter in September.

One friend remarked, “I would have thought that would have been good, and calmed him down.” “He’s always had lots of friends and activities. But now he’s focused on football and family.

However, after losing to his boyhood club at Villa Park in December, when he was known to be upset after being booed and heckled by some of the fans who once adored him, a sign of the frustration he has experienced at times this season emerged.

Grealish responded by holding up three fingers – believed to be a reference to the number of Premier League titles he has won since joining City. He hasn’t had much to boast about this campaign, in reality.

And as he approaches his 30th birthday, he has a significant challenge to live up to the expectations and value his talents once engendered.