Jack Grealish and Pep Guardiola
Jack Grealish thrived in a central role for Manchester City in midweek
Pep Guardiola jokingly said he had been playing Jack Grealish in the wrong position all along after suggesting the £100million man could get another opportunity to impress in a central role for Manchester City.
Grealish was handed the attacking midfield role he craves against Nottingham Forest on Wednesday. He helped inspire his team to their first win in eight games, getting their Premier League campaign back on track.
Since his 2021 move from Aston Villa, the 29-year-old has been played almost exclusively from the left. His best spell in a City shirt came in the second half of the treble-winning season, when his performances from that flank offered incision and control as the Blues proved unstoppable domestically and in Europe.
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But Grealish has struggled to hit those heights since, and his place on that flank has come under increasing pressure from Jeremy Doku last season, and Savinho and Doku this season. Grealish has started two of the last three games after a spell on the sidelines. After a late cameo against Liverpool, Guardiola suggested he could be the answer centrally. That experiment got a longer run against Forest and worked well, and Guardiola believes he can now be a threat either playing from the left or through the middle.
"He has the attributes to play there [in the middle]. Maybe it was my mistake to play him as a winger," said Guardiola.
"At Aston Villa, he started from the left position, the winger position and going more inside. Here it was more of a fixed position, more in the places. But he can adapt perfectly in both positions."
Grealish has gone through a difficult time at City recently, with extended spells out of action and a battle for his first-team place, but he has made no secret of his desire to play a more central role. The switch to playing him in that position could hand him more responsibility and help him get the most out of one of the club's most creative assets, but Guardiola could offer no guarantees that the England international will get that spot every week.
"It was just one game. We’ll have to see in the future for many many things," he said. "The confidence comes from himself, after many years I’m not here to give confidence, confidence has to be there.
"I know he likes to play this position, we have a lot of needs right now, with and without the ball, the impact on the game was really good."