Pep Guardiola ‘gives Jack Grealish what he wanted’ at Man City
Jack Grealish will be crucial to any Man City revival after getting the chance he’s been waiting for to play as a number 10 by Pep Guardiola, according to Paul Merson and Tim Sherwood.
The England international has been in and out of the Premier League starting XI this season but played a big role in the 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest on 4 December as the champions snapped their seven-game winless run.
And the pair of Sky Sports pundits believe the 29-year-old can be the catalyst to their title challenge in the absence of other injured stars.
Speaking live on Soccer Saturday on 7 December Merson said (12.30pm): “It’s hard to say anything about Pep Guardiola because he’s one of the greatest manager’s of all time and what he’s done at Man City, but I’ve always [been] one of them – when you’re struggling put your best players on the football pitch, and in midweek he put his best players on the football pitch.
“Jack Grealish always played in his big football matches, last year, year before, always. Kevin De Bruyne’s their best player. Kevin De Bruyne plays, all of a sudden [Bernardo] Silva plays well, how’s that work? Because he’s playing and their on the same wavelength.
“Jack Grealish gets on the ball, people say ‘oh he doesn’t beat players any more’. What he does is he sucks players in… he’s good on the ball, he holds the ball and he gets his head up, so when he sucks players in someone’s free, and when you’ve got Kevin De Bruyne free, and [Jeremy] Doku free, and Silva free they’re going to punish you.”
Sherwood added of Grealish: “Even if he’s in tight areas he doesn’t give the ball away, he operates in telephone boxes because he’s got wing mirrors, Jack, he knows exactly what’s around him… the ball is his best friend if he gets enough of it.
“He has been waiting for an opportunity to play in this 10 role and now he’s getting the opportunity from the manager. And I think he will take it with both hands and all of a sudden he’ll open up Pep’s eyes to a man who can be very, very effective.
“He’s effective off the left-hand side but you’re taking an awful lot away from him, and when you haven’t got the Rodris in that position and an awful lot of players out through injury sometimes you need to look [at] who else is going to stand up, and I think Jack Grealish is the boy.”
Kevin De Bruyne return also key for Man City fightback
Football Insider opinion
Guardiola and City are in uncharted territory this season after a winless run that they’ve never experienced under his management.
Victory over Forest arrested the slide but won’t mean much if they don’t follow it up with another result at Crystal Palace, especially with leaders Liverpool seeing their Merseyside derby clash with Everton postponed due to Storm Darragh.
It’s impossible to overlook the injury issues that the Etihad side have had this term, with Rodri chief among them, but this is an all-conquering squad filled with superstars and Guardiola has to use what he’s got.
Former £100million man Grealish [Sky Sports] and some people’s idea of the best player in England De Bruyne aren’t bad options to turn to, even if their futures remain up in the air and the latter is closing in on the end of his contract.
If the Englishman in particular can recapture the form he showed during the treble-winning season two years ago it will be a major boost, but if he’s now got the chance to play centrally fans might even hope he can produce shades of the player he was at Aston Villa.
Football Insider has been told that there may even be a completely new position on the cards for Grealish, but either way he looks set to be central to their fortunes moving forward.
In other Man City news, a recent arrival may be on the way out at the Etihad already as Guardiola chases a new star.
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