What Jack Grealish did after Man City title celebrations shows Pep Guardiola message has sunk in
Jack Grealish was predictably at the heart of Manchester City’s title celebrations as the Blues paraded through the city centre. He made headlines for almost falling off the open top bus – twice – and he had previously enjoyed his third Premier League title success long into the night when it was sealed the week before.
But for all of Grealish’s celebrations, he was an onlooker for the run-in as City sealed the title and then lost the FA Cup final. He started one of the last seven games, featuring in just three, totalling 93 minutes. He stayed at home for the win over Fulham through illness, but recent reports suggest he could have been omitted on account of his training performances.
Grealish wouldn’t play a minute for the rest of the season, and ended the campaign third choice on the left wing, behind both Phil Foden and Jeremy Doku. When he returns to City in July or August, he will need to improve on and off the field to reclaim his spot.
That is why Euro 2024 represents a huge opportunity for Grealish. He will still face competition from Foden, as well as the likes of Anthony Gordon and Cole Palmer who have enjoyed better seasons. But a positive tournament could give him momentum to take into the 2024/25 campaign and could give him a head start over some of his club teammates.
Having been involved in the FA Cup final, albeit without playing, Grealish was entitled to a late arrival to the England squad ahead of two friendlies this week. Foden and Kyle Walker are taking up that opportunity to rest their legs and minds after playing key roles in the run-in and won’t feature against Bosnia and Herzegovina tonight.
Grealish, however, could, after joining the Three Lions on Friday to try and earn his place ahead of the tournament. He was joined by John Stones on Saturday, a week after he had started the cup final, but also having fallen down the pecking order at City.
Stones will surely be a key man for England in Germany but will want to return to City in better form in order to reclaim his regular starting spot over Manu Akanji, Nathan Ake and Ruben Dias. His own decision to cut short his allocated time off shows a desire to do just that.
For Grealish, forgoing some time off and possibly extra partying in order to join up with England shows he has got the message from Pep Guardiola over his place at City. His huge summer begins now.
