Time for Grealish to 'step up, adapt or risk being forced out'

Contrary to some beliefs, Jack Grealish has been far from a failure at Manchester City. The 29-year-old, despite his lack of goals and assists, brings a unique trait to the way Pep Guardiola wants his side to play.

Nobody can retain possession in the way Grealish can. Nobody can maintain a stranglehold of possession facing opposition defenders in the way Grealish can. Nobody can draw the focus of opposing players in attacking areas for City in the way Grealish can. And nobody can keep City penned into opposition final thirds in the way Grealish can.

It is all of those components that have allowed some of City's attacking players to flourish in recent seasons, and a large portion of the club's success in pinning opposition teams back during their Treble-winning 2022-23 campaign can be credited to the former Aston Villa captain.

But as City look to refresh, rebuild and reinvent a squad some believe has been found out - but is almost certainly just ageing and requiring a fresh impetus - Grealish may need to be a casualty in the summer transfer window, unless he can adapt and transition into a new role.

Much of that will depend on Guardiola's attempts to reposition a player he has put so much faith in, and one he believes in more than anyone else.

Savinho's recent success on the left has illustrated exactly how well Manchester City can attack and get the very best out of Erling Haaland during a troubling season for the striker at times. Not even Jeremy Doku has been able to supply the assists for the 24-year-old that Savinho fashioned against Leicester City and West Ham United.

And for Grealish - a player who has always struggled to make his mark in goal contributions - the time has come for him to excel and impress in an entirely different role, or accept that the future of Manchester City may not require or include his skillset.

Find more from Freddie Pye at City Xtra