Jack Grealish is "fighting for his future" at Manchester City and Pep Guardiola's "incredibly brutal" and "really negative" comments spell trouble for the struggling attacker, Citizens expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany tells Sports Mole.
The 29-year-old has failed to make the desired impact for the Citizens this season, featuring in 14 of the club's 20 Premier League games, but starting only six times.
While Guardiola has previously insisted that Grealish should not solely be judged on how many goals or assists that he records for Man City, the fact that he went through 2024 without netting a single goal in 32 appearances has left many Citizens supporters disappointed.
Grealish has won three Premier League titles, the Champions League and the FA Cup since his £100m move from boyhood club Aston Villa in the summer of 2021, and he played a key role in the Man City side that won a historic treble in 2022-23.
However, now in the prime years of his career, Grealish has fallen down the pecking order at the Etihad Stadium and Guardiola has made it clear that the England international must prove to him that he deserves to win back his starting spot ahead of in-form winger Savinho.
While Grealish has been perched on the substitutes' bench, Savinho has excelled in Man City's last two Premier League matches, contributing with one goal and four assists across victories over Leicester City and West Ham United.
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'Guardiola's quotes read really, really negatively towards Grealish'
McInerney believes that the impressive rise of Savinho will see him "lock down" a starting spot on the left flank at a time when Guardiola is "frustrated" with Grealish for multiple reasons.
"I think Guardiola's quotes on [Jack] Grealish are incredibly brutal if I'm being honest," McInerney told Sports Mole. "I think they're very telling right now and Guardiola essentially said after the game that Savinho's in the team because he's the best option, and he deserves to be there.
"Given that he's saying that after a couple of performances on the left, I don't see that changing. I think Savinho's going to stay there for a while."
"I think the quotes from Guardiola read really, really negatively towards Jack Grealish," McInerney added. "These aren't what you'd expect to hear for a guy who's 29, one of the highest paid players in Premier League football on a minimum of £300,000 a week, on a really good contract at Man City.
"[Guardiola's quotes] scream frustration [and he] feels Jack Grealish is coasting. It's very obvious that Guardiola is not happy, in my opinion, with the work-rate levels or the commitment or the lack of focus."
McInerney feels that Guardiola's decision to speak about Grealish is "perfectly timed" and he is not surprised that that Catalan has waited to share his views on the Englishman until Man City ended their torrid winless streak.
"I don't think it's a coincidence either that Guardiola has come out and said this now," he added. "I don't think he would have said it three weeks ago when City were in the middle of a losing streak, because that's fuel on the fire of an already negative camp.
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Does Grealish have the hunger to play for Guardiola at Man City?
"When City have won a couple of games, Guardiola's got every right to come out and say this. It's perfectly timed and I don't think it's anywhere near as explosive as it would have been three or four weeks ago where the news would have been 'City are imploding, everyone hates each other'.
Discussing Grealish's mental state, McInerney said: "There's been rumours that Grealish's motivation hasn't been quite as good after [winning] the treble. He said himself publicly that he felt like he completed football and doesn't really know how to follow that.
"I think sometimes people do tell you the truth, they just tell you how they feel and you can sit there and take it as 'oh it's just a little anecdote', or you could take it at face value and trust Grealish when he says he doesn't know how to follow it.
"Add to the fact that he's a recent dad as well, I think Grealish has got a lot going on in his life and to me if you've got Guardiola coming out and saying this and comparing you to a 20-year-old who's just joined the club (Savinho) and is essentially questioning your hunger, it doesn't look good."
"I really get the feeling right now that Guardiola is frustrated with Grealish," McInerney continued. "He did fight a lot for him to be there and he did win a lot with him, but it doesn't matter because it was a long time ago.
"Jack Grealish has talent, but right now City need hunger, they need goals, they need energy. I know the goals and assists thing has always been used against Jack Grealish, and I do think there is a scenario where it's not always the main focus and it's understandable, but at the same time City are desperate for it right now.
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What does the future hold for Grealish at Man City?
"City are not scoring [enough] goals and the team needs people who are hungry to score goals, it needs that. [Phil] Foden's not been anywhere near as prolific, the wingers haven't been scoring, so Pep's asking for that hunger and that drive and he's not seeing it.
"You're just not going to play and ultimately if you're not showing it or you're not proving you've got the fight when City are at their lowest ebb for an awful long time, then it doesn't come across well.
"I don't think you can hide from that and I think Pep is frustrated, not because some players have lost a bit of hunger - he's not stupid, he knows it's going to happen - I think he's frustrated because they've lost the hunger now (during a poor run of form), and they're not showing it even though he needs them. I think that's the most frustrating thing.
"I don't think [Guardiola's quotes] read well at all. People could try and interpret them in a different way if they want, but I think Jack Grealish is very much fighting for his future at Manchester City Football Club.
"I think that's the inevitable result of where City have been, and someone's going to go through that if you've had that much success. Right now it feels like it's Jack Grealish going through it."
Grealish, who came on as a substitute for the final six minutes of Man City's 4-1 win at West Ham last weekend, is under contract at the Etihad until the summer of 2027.
There are no suggestions at present that Grealish could be on the move in January, but it has previously been reported that Tottenham Hotspur may consider an ambitious swoop for the attacker.
Press play on the video at the top of this article to hear the full discussion.
Oliver Thomas
