Jack Grealish is who we thought he is

Jack Grealish has been in the fire of many Manchester City fans in the recent weeks as his performances have been called in to question and whether he has merited that huge 100M Pound move made 18 months ago.

Before we get to that let’s get the boss opinion on what he wants and expects from Jack:

Pep Guardiola: “Jack [Grealish] doesn’t need goals to change my opinion.” “I see something on the pitch, in the training sessions, and I use my intuition to use Jack in these games because he gives us extra passes”

These are just some of the quotes where Pep seems to have a different profile fit for Grealish than the rest of us. He focuses on the retention, pausa as he calls it, and makes it for a more controlled player.

Almost the opposite of what made him so successful at Aston Villa. Now the situations are different, Villa did not have the near skill these City players have, so it makes sense for his role to change. It is why I have not and will not give up on him, he was not brought on to score, under Pep Guardiola he see’s Jack as a controller, not a dribbler.

The litmus test was the Leeds game as he played pretty darn well. The only knock and it does have merit, is his missed chances. He was active, connected well and could have had more assists than the one he ended with.

A fantastic game, it’s why he started vs Everton. Was that the wrong profile for that match, perhaps, but Pep Guardiola had to reward his great game midweek.

City still have a bevy of chances and direct matches with Arsenal for the title race and Jack will be a key part of it, so let’s try and enjoy the chaos.