Jack Grealish appears to have aimed a veiled dig at Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola after being left out of Thomas Tuchel’s first England squad that was named on Friday morning.
There were several high-profile omissions from the squad, along with some eye-opening selections, as the German picked his 26-man party for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia at Wembley.
The squad saw the returns of Marcus Rashford and Jordan Henderson, while the likes of Newcastle defender Dan Burn, Arsenal talent Myles Lewis-Skelly and Liverpool centre-back Jarell Quansah also got the nod.
In terms of players missing out, it came as a bit of a surprise that there was no place for the likes of Morgan Gibbs-White, Ethan Nwaneri, Adam Wharton and Jarrad Branthwaite.
As for Grealish, the City star has had a tough time nailing down a regular starting spot at The Etihad to make a case for his inclusion – even if Tuchel is clearly a big fan of the player.
Speaking about why Grealish missed out on his maiden squad selection, Tuchel admitted: “I love Jack. As a headline, I love Jack. I love everything about him. I love his personality, I love his quality.
“The guy has courage, he can take the heat, he’s not afraid of the Bernabeu whistles when he’s on the ball, it does not affect him and if it affects him only in the best way.
“So, is he a player that should be available and can have an impact in our squad? Yes, 100 per cent.”
Despite that self-confessed ‘love’, Tuchel also revealed Grealish’s frustrations with life at City, where he has also suffered his fair share of injury issues since his £100million switch in 2021.
The England chief added: “He simply has no rhythm and he himself – and I agree 100 per cent with this – said ‘listen, Thomas, I’m not a start-stop player – it is so hard for me to influence a match from the bench and then be on the bench again, and then two weeks later I start again'”.
That last quote appears to be a real admission that he is unhappy at being in and out of Guardiola’s side, especially when he has played well and then is dropped for City’s next outing.
Grealish was back on the bench for Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Brighton and failed to make an appearance as Pep’s men were held to a point in their bid to secure a top-four finish.
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There is every chance that the 29-year-old will be offloaded this summer as Pep prepares for dramatic surgery on his under-performing squad after a disastrous campaign.
And, if Grealish is to be shown the door at City, a Spurs fan calling in to talkSPORT recently– where former Tottenham man Darren Bent was co-presenting – feels the north London club would be the best landing spot.
“I think the best team for him is Spurs because [Ange] Postecoglou will let him play and that’s what he needs,” he said.
“At the moment I would because Son’s not as good as he was and I think you need someone who’s slightly better and I think Jack Grealish is the man to replace Son.”
Spurs were said to be weighing up a move for Grealish back in December, having been interested before he joined City, so it’s not as if there’s no chance of that transfer happening.
Indeed, it’s been mooted that Grealish could arrive as Son Heung-min’s successor in north London.
In response, Bent reviewed Son‘s recent form, stating: “You can’t hide the fact he hasn’t been as effective as he usually is, that comes with age. Grealish is 29, though, he looks in unbelievable nick.”
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