Should Manchester City Fight for Jack Grealish?

Manchester City have been reported to be interested in Jack Grealish. Of Course that is not surprising. Most top players available for transfer are linked to the club these days. So that can be expected. Yet, the Aston Villa man is a player Pep Guardiola should be interested in.

The 25-year-old has been one of the best players in the Premier League for the last two years. He has been constantly linked to top clubs as a result. Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City have been regularly credited with an interest.

The Need

That City parades one of the best midfields in the Premier League is no secret. But it is also not a secret that some of these players are ageing. Although presently at the top of their game, Ilkay Gundugan and Kevin De Bruyne are in and around age 30. With Phil Foden now preferred on the wings, Bernardo Silva remains the other standing attacking midfielder.

Manchester United parades Scott McTominay, Fred, Matic, Juan Mata, Donny van de Beek,Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes. Seven in number, with the last four functioning as attacking midfielders. The oldest of the last three is Pogba at 28. Needless to say, but adding a player like Grealish will put City in a good position to continue going strong in the next several years.

The Case for Grealish

When a player carries his boyhood club on his shoulders, dragging it all the way from the English Championship to the top flight and now the team sits comfortably in the top half of the Premier League table, he must be something special. A look at his numbers confirm as much.

Sure, they do not compare with Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe. Yet, they are enough to class him as exceptional in his position. And that is if you think Kevin De Brune is exceptional. The Belgian has netted five times and set up another 11 in 24 Premier League outings this season. That compares favourably with Grealish.

With six goals and 10 assists in 22 league appearances this term, the Birmingham-born midfielder has proved his quality beyond doubt. Meanwhile Bernado Silva, who has been in form this term, has scored two goals and laid on four assists despite playing a game more.

The Possibilities

So imagine adding the England international to the City midfield. Pairing Grealish with De Bruyne will be brutal. It is capable of raising City to a whole new level of performance. That is scary when one considers the fact that this team has done amazing things in the last few years (European “failure” not withstanding).

It is a signing that can render the addition of a new striker needless for the Blues. With the duo playing behind Gabriel Jesus, the goals are almost guaranteed to rain every time. They both have an uncanny ability to unlock defences. They can turn Jesus into a goalscoring monster with assists coming in from all sides.

With a solid defence behind them, they can play with the freedom they desire and fully express themselves. They can also bring out the best in other forwards like Raheem Sterling, Phil Foden and even Ferran Torres.

For a player who is currently valued at ₤54million, the price will be reasonable even if Aston Villa demand for more. That will be a great deal compared to the insane amounts demanded by Borussia Dortmund and Tottenham for Erling Haaland and Harry Kane respectively.

So Yes, Manchester City will do well to fight for Jack Grealish. In fact, the club should go all out for the player if we are not signing a striker to replace Aguero.