Jack Grealish
Jack Grealish (Image: Getty Images)
In dire need of an equaliser, and with admittedly a wealth of talent at his disposal, Pep Guardiola turned to his Manchester City bench on Saturday with his side trailing Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final at Wembley.
City needed to be intricate with Palace defending doggedly. They required ingenuity, something off-the-cuff, unpredictability. So on came Phil Foden and, later, Ilkay Gundogan. But playmaker Jack Grealish was overlooked by his boss.
The once Aston Villa captain, a player who commanded a £100m fee when moving to City in 2021, didn't get on the pitch. Even Argentinian teenager Claudio Echeverri, who had never played for the club before Saturday having spent time out on loan at River Plate, was given the nod ahead of Grealish.
It was the surest sign yet that the Villa academy star's long-term future lies away from the Etihad Stadium, having fallen so far down the pecking order that even untried, albeit talented, teens were being preferred in desperate situations.
"If I was Jack Grealish I'd be really concerned about my future at the football club, not getting on the pitch," BBC Sport pundit and former Birmingham City boss Wayne Rooney said, and it's hard to disagree.
Grealish has two years left on his contract with City but, having packed his own trophy cabinet out with Premier League titles, FA Cups and a Champions League trophy, it's likely that playing regularly again will be prioritised. He won't be short of offers, either.
Grealish is 30 later this year and faces perhaps the most pivotal summer of his playing career. Newcastle United have an interest in the player, who did feature for England in the Nations League under Lee Carsley at the back end of last year but ignored for Thomas Tuchel's first squad in March.
A return to Villa Park by way of a destination for Grealish this summer is perhaps a predictable link, although Villa are having to tread carefully financially this summer to ensure they remain within the PSR parameters.
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