Jack Grealish expected to join Tottenham from Man City as Pep Guardiola slammed
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has been criticised over his treatment of Jack Grealish as the winger is now expected to “end up at” Tottenham.
It’s fair to say that Grealish’s time at Man City has failed to live up to expectations since his £100 million move from Aston Villa almost four years ago.
Grealish arrived in Manchester having scored seven times and assisted a further 10 in just 27 Premier League appearances during his last season for the Villians.
This saw him make the England squad for the first time in 2020 and establish himself as a regular under former manager Gareth Southgate.
However, Grealish’s direct and creative style that he had been so closely associated in the past, appears to have been lost in recent times and is yet to be on seen on a consistent basis in Guardiola’s system.
With the 2026 World Cup fast approaching and new coach Thomas Tuchel leaving the 29-year-old out of his first squad, former striker Troy Deeny believes that Grealish needs to move away from Man City in order to revitalise his England career, while Jeff Stelling is convinced of his next club.
Does Grealish need to leave Man City?
Speaking live on talkSPORT [25 March], Katie Shanahan asked: “Does Grealish need to leave Man City to get in the England squad?”
Deeney replied: “Absolutely, I think it’s nailed on that he is going to leave [Man City].
“I’ve said this before, obviously Pep Guardiola is one of the best coaches we have ever seen, but I don’t think he has handled the Jack Grealish or Kevin De Bruyne situation very well this year at all.
“I think he has left them in the cold and he [Grealish] will need to leave and he will not be short of suitors.
“It’s a massive situation for him, he may need to lower his expectations in terms of wages and where he is playing, but I could definitely see him going to somewhere like Spurs, playing week in week out and trying to move them up.
“For Jack it’s about staying fit and playing consistently.”
Jeff Stelling backed Deeney’s claims that Tottenham would be the perfect move for Grealish, saying: “He needs to go somewhere where he can be that free spirit again. I think he’ll end up at Tottenham.
“I’m sure he wants to play football again.”
Is Tottenham the perfect fit for Grealish?
Football Insider verdict
When all is said and done for Grealish’s time at Man City, he will undoubtedly look back with fond memories at the trophies he won.
Being a part of the team that completed a historic treble in 2023, including Man City’s first ever Champions League triumph, will forever etch his name into the club’s history.
However, from a personal point of view, Grealish must be aware that his happiness in football surely lies away from Man City.
Loss of form coupled with persistent injuries has seen him slip down the pecking order amid a disconnect with Guardiola, and that is now starting to have a knock on effect to his international career.
| Grealish overall stats 2024/25 | Grealish overall stats 2022/23 |
| 26 appearances | 30 appearances |
| 2 goals | 5 goals |
| 5 assists | 11 assists |
The emergence of recent signings Savinho and Omar Marmoush means Grealish has started just once in the Premier League since January.
In this time, his output has also declined with Grealish providing no Premier League goals and just one assist in 16 appearances.
If Grealish is to stay in the Premier League, there will not be many philosophy’s that suit his attributes better than Ange Postecoglou‘s Tottenham.
Postecoglou’s emphasises on fast, free-flowing football could prove to be the key to restoring Grealish’s confidence at club level and on the international stage.