The North Londoners have been striving to bring in a slick wide forward to the roster at Hotspur Way, given how Ange Postecoglou’s side has struggled to find solutions when facing a coached defensive unit, and this means that the Australian coach needs someone who can force solutions, and as Daniel Levy dips into the market to find that, they are met by a familiar face on the target list in Jack Grealish.
Tottenham know Grealish from long back
There have been speculations of late linking Tottenham Hotspur with Manchester City winger Jack Grealish, and this takes us back years when Daniel Levy tried to sign the England international from Aston Villa. Let’s walk back to the deadline day of the summer transfer window of 2018 when the Lilywhites failed to get their hands on Jack Grealish after the chiefs at Villa Park stood firm on their refusal to sell at any price after the club made a £25m bid for him. The Villans then set an asking price of £40m for the small shin pad trailblazer, but Levy had other plans, and eventually, Spurs went on to miss an amazing talent who went on to win almost everything in club football with Manchester City.
And now, the Lilywhites are looking to sign him just when it looks like it’s a bit too late.
But should Levy sign him?
Should Tottenham Hotspur pursue Jack Grealish despite his declining form?
The question pops up: Should Tottenham Hotspur be looking to sign Grealish?
At the time of writing, the England international is twenty-nine (29), and on paper, it’d seem that he is in his prime, but his performances have barely been anywhere close to what you’d expect from him. Grealish has just one assist to his name in the past 16 Premier League appearances donning the Manchester City badge, and that aggregates to an average of a goal involvement every 606 minutes.
Now to put that into context, the chiefs at Hotspur Way who have been criticising how Spurs skipper Son Heung-min has been struggling this season, and while he is termed to be having a tough time, the South Korean still outperforms Grealish by a mile, which kind of also underscores Grealish’s alarming decline.
Bent agrees as well…
Former Lilywhites striker Darren Bent agrees as he raises concerns over Grealish’s credentials, implying that Levy should not be looking at him. Speaking on talkSport, the 41-year-old said:
“Son’s 32. You can’t hide the fact he hasn’t been as effective as he usually has. But Grealish is himself 29. He looks in unbelievable shape, but…”
£50m? Are you crazy?
A risk not worth taking?
Then you go from age to the next things; despite his lack of output, Manchester City wants to sell him for a premium (estimated price of £50m+), and that will be a waste of resources for the North Londoners, especially after how Levy has done brilliantly of late in investing in highly anticipated talents.
Now, let’s speak about the tactical fit, the fact that he will have less positional discipline and more free-roaming possibilities (like he used to have at Villa at N17), which works kindly for the North Londoners. But the fact that his tendency to keep the ball at his feet for those one or two extra seconds works against everything that Ange Postecoglou has built in a high-paced, fast-attacking system, and then you’d think if Grealish is an ideal man for a relentless pressing in the offensive zones where he (at times) has to cover two players (in shadow pressing).
There are better players in the market than Jack Grealish
Let’s look into the market for a minute. Aren’t there others who can do the same job (maybe a better one) and come with a more cost-effective fee while ensuring that they tick multiple boxes like higher resale value, long-term upside, and more importantly, the energy and flair to execute in Postecoglou’s demanding system? You can invest in the likes of Nico Williams, Antoine Semenyo, Eberechi Eze, Ismaïla Sarr, Kaoru Mitoma, and many more who can help Tottenham for a long time.
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And in all senses, Grealish looks like a gamble that is unlikely to reap such dividends.