Pep Guardiola defended his treatment of Jack Grealish and lifted the lid on previous Manchester City discussions about him
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Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland of Manchester City look on from the bench prior to the UEFA Champions League play-off second leg match between Real Madrid and City
Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland
If Pep Guardiola knew, he wasn't letting on. Leaving Jack Grealish out of a matchday squad is a much bigger deal than leaving Vitor Reis or Claudio Echeverri out according to pretty much everyone, yet the Manchester City manager was insistent.
He has had to leave players out of recent matches and against Fulham it just so happened that Grealish was one of them. It was nothing personal, just a selection decision that he didn't want to make but is paid to.
That in itself is telling of the way Guardiola manages and the way Grealish should expect to be seen in the squad. Everybody has to prove themselves again and again, and if they don't there is no shortage of teammates willing to move ahead.
As the manager said back in January, “As much as he looks at himself, he will see the competition and he has to compete. Savinho is in better shape and everything than Jack, and that’s why I played Savinho.
“Do I want the Jack that won the treble? Yes, I want it – but I try to be honest with myself for that."
Grealish was one of the two best players between January and April in the Treble season as the team worked their way from potential disaster to immortal glory, and his place in that success should not be forgotten. Equally, if there are no signs of that level there is no reason for Grealish's position to be protected amid fierce competition.
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Fierce accurately sums up Guardiola's defence of his decision on Grealish on Sunday, which covered both the game itself and the player's entire time at the club. In making clear how often he has gone into bat for Grealish, the manager indirectly made it known that the 29-year-old's future at the club has been questioned in transfer discussions in more than one window.
"I'm the person who fought for him to come here and the person who fought for him to stay here this season and the last season," he said. "I'm the one who said I want Jack Grealish."
Clearly, away from the public eye, others have felt strongly enough the other way that Guardiola has stepped in to defend a player he has given significant leeway to in his struggles after the Treble. That too should tell Grealish all he needs to know about the club's willingness to offload him.
It isn't a certainty, not least because of the wages Grealish is on. He would surely have to take a significant pay cut to go elsewhere given how much his stock has fallen over the last two years at the Etihad.
Guardiola did raise the prospect of Grealish staying next season, but that came amid the recognition that he needs to be playing regularly. City's manager has had the chance to do that in his team for the last two years and has chosen not to.
Unless Grealish expects dramatic change at City, he knows enough about how the club value him to be able to plan for next season.
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