Football
Pep Guardiola Issues Rallying Cry To Jack Grealish As Star Fights To Regain Manchester City Place
James is an experienced writer covering a wide range of sports, including Premier League and European football, Rugby Union, WWE and the NFL. Having studied English & Creative Writing at Plymouth University, James completed a master's degree in Digital & Social Media Marketing before pursuing a career in Journalism. He then graduated from News Associates in Manchester after finishing their NCTJ Postgraduate Diploma in Multimedia Sports Journalism. Since then, James spent time writing for GameRant before joining Reach PLC, where he featured regularly in publications such as the Daily Mirror, Football.LDN, Manchester Evening News and Liverpool Echo, as well as dozens of local titles. Now at SportsCasting, James provides expert analysis and detailed research features, as well as covering breaking news stories.
Get to know James Chittick betterPublished06 Jan 2025
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has called on Jack Grealish to prove why he deserves to play after a disappointing first half of the season.
England winger Grealish, 29, has started just six times for City this season. His struggles have mirrored City’s own, but poor performances have seen the player drop down the pecking order at the Etihad.
Grealish played just six minutes at the weekend as he replaced Erling Haaland late on in City’s 4-1 victory over West Ham.
New arrival Savinho started ahead of the former Aston Villa man. The Brazilian joined from Girona in the summer for around £30m and provided both assists for Haaland’s brace against the Irons.
And manager Guardiola did not hold back when explaining why Savinho is starting over Grealish.
He said: “Savinho is in better shape and everything than Jack, and that’s why I played Savinho.
Pep Guardiola Wants The Old Jack Grealish Back
The City boss then stated his desire to see the same Jack Grealish who helped his side to a historic treble two seasons ago.
Guardiola added: “Do I want the Jack that won the Treble? Yeah I want it, but I try to be honest with myself for that.
“They have to fight. You can say it’s unfair. OK, if you think that, then 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 moved to Manchester City from boyhood club Aston Villa in 2021. Signing for a massive, £100m fee, he has since won three Premier Leagues, an FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League.
But this season, City lost nine times in 13 games heading into Christmas. Their slump has seen them drop to sixth in the Premier League, 12 points below leaders Liverpool and effectively out of the title race.
Grealish missed a couple of those games, before coming off the bench against West Ham.
But while Pep Guardiola has been critical, he full backs his players to come good again.
“Two weeks ago, he was injured and he needs rhythm, and to play, but players need training,” Guardiola added.
“I don’t have any doubt about the quality of Jack or any of these players. They would not be here [otherwise].
“I fought a lot for him, fought a lot to be here. I know that he can do it because I saw him. I saw his level and I want that, every single training session and every single game.”