As we approach the business end of the season, Manchester City still have plenty to play for.
Last weekend, despite leading twice through Erling Braut Håland and then Omar Marmoush, the Citizens were pegged back both times, ultimately held to a 2-2 draw by Brighton at the Etihad.
Brighton & Hove Albion's Joao Pedro in action with Manchester City's Ruben Dias and Abdukodir Khusanov
So, having taken just seven points from their last six Premier League fixtures, Pep Guardiola's team are fifth, thereby occupying the final Champions League position, but with both Newcastle and Brighton a mere one point behind.
So, as many of the Sky Blues' superstars continue to underperform, including Jack Grealish, perhaps they could regret letting go of a player who's now worth £80m.
Why Jack Grealish isn't in Thomas Tuchel's England squad
Less than four years after moving to Manchester City for £100m, a then British transfer record, Grealish is now merely an afterthought at the Etihad.
Grealish
Across the Citizens' last seven Premier League fixtures, the 29-year-old's involvement has been reduced to a one-minute cameo at Tottenham, an unused substitute for the fifth time during this period on Saturday, his most recent league start coming before Christmas.
Well, considering Grealish has scored only two goals this season, going 392 days without a club goal, before converting a penalty against Salford, it's easy to understand why Guardiola doesn't pick him regularly.
Last week, there was widespread uproar when Thomas Tuchel announced his first-ever England squad, but not in relation to the fact Grealish wasn't included, considering he featured in only four of their 17 internationals during 2024, most infamously left out of Gareth Southgate's Euros squad.
Tuchel said at his press conference, "I love Jack, I love everything about him", but added "he simply has no rhythm...Jack gets better and better the more minutes he plays", suggesting he won't pick him if he continues to be used sporadically at club level.
IMG_1288
So, while a current Man City wide-man continues to struggle, a former Man City youngster, and future England superstar, continues to make the Sky Blues look foolish for allowing him to leave for free as a teenager.
Former Man City academy star shining abroad
Jamie Gittens, formerly Jamie Bynoe-Gittens prior a summer re-brand, bounced around various English academies, spending time at Reading, Chelsea and then Manchester City, joining the Citizens as a 14-year-old.
Jamie-Gittens-Borussia-Dortmund
However, he left Manchester just two years later, joining Borussia Dortmund in 2020, saying he wanted to follow the same path as Jadon Sancho, stating "I wanted to be like him", adding "seeing other players before me doing it [moving abroad] persuaded me that I could try that as well".
Well, this move has certainly worked out, given that the 20-year-old has now made 98 senior appearances for die Schwarzgelben, scoring 16 goals and providing ten assists, most notably on target against Bayern Munich in der Klassiker in November.
After being presented with the Golden Boy award in December 2023, Jude Bellingham described his former teammate as a "top talent", while Fabrizio Romano labelled him 'special'.
Meantime, former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock believes Gittens is every defender's "worst nightmare", while Saul Morris of Football Talent Scout describes him as an 'attacking and direct winger' who has 'extremely high' potential and will one day 'establish himself in the England team'.
So, let's assess how Gittens compares to the aforementioned Grealish this season.
Gittens vs Grealish comparison (24/25)
Statistics
Appearances
Minutes
Goals
Assists
Shots on target %
Goals - xG
Take-on success %
Progressive carries
Shot-creating actions
Goal-creating actions
Touches per 90
Statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt and FBref.com
As the table outlines, despite the fact Grealish has, on average, around 16 more touches per 90, Gittens ranks significantly higher for all attacking metrics: goals, assists, shooting, chances created and dribbling.
Borussia Dortmund's Jamie Bynoe-Gittens in action
In this season's Champions League, Gittens ranks seventh for goals - xG, with Grealish down in 181st, while the 20-year-old ranks sixth in the Bundesliga for the same metric, with the Man City man is 481st in the Premier League in terms of this statistic.
According to a report by Samuel Meade for the Daily Mirror, Dortmund value Gittens at £80m, with Arsenal and Chelsea supposedly interested, underlining that Man City made a major mistake allowing him to leave.
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