Manchester City star Jack Grealish has had a good start to his season for club and country after a disappointing year
Jack Grealish was not short of motivation when he returned to Manchester City in summer earlier than expected.
His season had not gone well – struggling to come to terms with going again after winning The Treble – but it was still a major shock for Grealish to be left out of the England squad for the European Championship. Even after the initial shock, it took some getting over.
“I was absolutely heartbroken,” he said in July, “and then obviously when you’re on your holidays, wherever I was, every time you turn on the phone or turn on the TV or whatever you just see it so it was hard to not to see it. But I want to try to use that as motivation now, going forward into this season and hopefully I can prove some people wrong.”
For all the support that Pep Guardiola had and has given Grealish, you wondered if he too was on the list that the player felt he had to make a point to. City’s manager has not been afraid to offer some tough love in public, and it was his failure to rely on Grealish last year that went a long way to costing him his England spot.
Five months on and the 29-year-old appears to be in a much better place. Despite an injury that saw him miss the beginning of the season, he has started six of the last eight City games and also enjoyed becoming a father for the first time.
There has also been a resurgence with England under interim manager Lee Carsley, impressing on the left and inside and scoring goals – not something he is renowned for – in both the September and October fixtures. Grealish has certainly felt the love, with Carsley calling it his privilege to be able to select the player and close friend and teammate Declan Rice offering his full support.
“For him to score again for England, and he’s been playing loads at Man City as well, he’s looked really confident,” he said. “I’m buzzing for him, when we’ve got a Jack Grealish who is happy and smiling and playing well, he’s a massive boost for England and I think everyone can see that.”
Grealish has played his best football for City when he has felt important and happy, yet Guardiola does not allow any player to get too comfortable. There is also no denying that the player’s bright start to this season has come with him feeling he has a point to make.
The key question for both the forward and City moving forward is how much they fan the same flames moving forward. How much does Grealish still feel he has to prove or wants to prove people wrong, and what is the balance that Guardiola strikes to get the best out of him?
Having returned to the right track, the next battle is working out how to keep moving forwards.
