Why Grealish could find it hard to seal a summer move away from Manchester City

Mention the name Jack Grealish and it's hard not to break into a beaming smile.

Whether it's the maverick way he plays the game that's reminiscent of halcyon days, the brutal honesty and lack of polish in media interviews or on social media, the blanket refusal to conform to how a modern day player should present himself off the pitch or the kindness shown in abundance to those less fortunate than himself, Grealish is a class act - and he makes people happy.

The 29-year-old doesn't have to force anything and just by being himself he's become one of England's most beloved players. Though not by Pep Guardiola it seems.

Never one for standing on sentiment, the Catalan has seen enough and omitting the attacking midfielder from Manchester City's Club World Cup squad was always going to sound the death knell for Grealish.

Drop off in form has been remarkable

With just two goals and five assists from 26 games in all competitions during the 2024/25 campaign, Pep's decision can hardly have come as a surprise to the player whose drop off in form since the treble-winning campaign has been nothing short of remarkable.

In hindsight, that incredible feat was always going to be the zenith of Grealish's career though no one could surely have foreseen such a quick fall from grace.

As Pep has shown time and again at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Man City, no matter the name or the profile, if you're no longer producing the goods week in and week out, then you're of no use to him.

Harsh as it may seem, that quest for perfection is precisely why Guardiola deserves his place in the pantheon of great managers, alongside the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson, Arrigo Sacchi et al.

What next for Jack Grealish?

So what next for Grealish? A player who, in actual fact, has only scored 15 goals and provided 19 assists in 121 games for City. Hardly a sparkling return when all is said and done.

Looking beyond the numbers, perhaps it's the experience and personality that he can bring to the dressing room that will be coveted by any number of clubs.

According to various reports, Eddie Howe's Newcastle United, David Moyes' Everton and Erik ten Hag's Bayer Leverkusen have all registered an initial interest in the player.

Jack Grealish spent a lot of time on the Manchester City bench during the 2024/25 seasonMatt Impey / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia

Tottenham Hotspur were another to be mentioned, though with a new manager in Thomas Frank reportedly set to take over and Grealish's reported £300,000 per week wages to be factored in, it's unlikely that north London will be the swashbuckling midfielder's next destination.

The football romantics amongst us would surely love to see him return to Villa Park where he would be assured a hero's welcome, and whilst there's no concrete speculation concerning such a move at present, were Unai Emery to make his interest known, all bets are off.

Grealish's City teammate, Kevin De Bruyne is expected to join Napoli, and the Partnopei also appear to be keeping an eye on proceedings - but nothing more - at this stage.

Can Grealish prove the doubters wrong?

Whomever does end up loaning or buying Grealish, what will they be getting?

For starters, they'll have a player champing at the bit to prove Guardiola wrong. Having started just 12 games in 24/25 and played just 1,167 minutes in all competitions last season, it's clear that the player wasn't able to find the rhythm that comes with playing regularly.

Jack Grealish Radar Chart 2024/25 Premier LeagueOpta by Stats Perform

That might also account for an appalling 6.7% shot conversion rate, which, if clubs are looking at Grealish to affect play, needs to be improved upon - quickly.

Shooting accuracy doesn't appear to be his forte either. 90 shots in four seasons for an attacking player is far, far too low, particularly for someone of Grealish's quality.

He has the ability to beat his man and make space for himself by moving inside the full-back, however, when he's managed to do just that for City, 63 of his 90 shots were blocked.

Jack Grealish's xG 2024/25Opta by Stats Perform

Passing accuracy has only dropped below 80% on two occasions, with the majority of his time spent at the Etihad Stadium seeing Grealish post figures into the high 80s and low 90s - as one might expect for anyone lucky enough to find themselves in a Guardiola squad.

As a player, there's little point in having aspirations of working under Pep if you can't pass the ball around with ease.

Taking a £60m loss should ring alarm bells

Even taking into account Grealish's excellence in terms of the passing aspect of his game, and his industry in winning over 500 one-on-one duels in a City shirt as well as making more than 300 ball recoveries, the plain fact is that the areas where he should be excelling - goals, assists etc - he has come up woefully short of late.

That Man City are reportedly willing to take a £60m loss on the player and allow him to leave for a paltry £40m should sound the alarm for any of those teams who believe that he can be rehabilitated with them.

A change is often as good as a rest, so the saying goes, and maybe that is the only thing that's needed now to see Grealish's spark rekindled.