Former Premier League midfielder Michael Brown has claimed that Manchester City need to move on from Jack Grealish after his difficult spell.
The winger has endured a torrid time having started just six games in the league this season and having netted just two goals and lost his place to Jeremy Doku, Savinho and January signing Omar Marmoush.
Even with two years left on his deal, he is still likely to leave. The 29-year-old has been on the periphery and Brown believes Grealish may well be open to a move away.
“I don’t think he’s a part of Guardiola’s long-term plans. He’s been out of the team a lot this year, even when he’s been fit and ready,” he said to Football Insider.
“That, to me, suggests they’re not 100 per cent happy with him. Jack doesn’t do himself any favours, he’s always prone to a picture of him partying or things like that which always adds to pressure and speculation.
“They’ve got an abundance of wide players at City, they’re important to the way they play. But it seems they prefer the likes of Savinho and [Jeremy] Doku, with a bit more pace and direct ability to take on a defender and get the ball in the box.
“We know what Jack does, and he does it well, but he doesn’t get anywhere near enough goals or assists. That’s going to be seen as a problem for City, and I think they’ll be prepared to let him go. From his point of view, though, it might come at a good time.
“He’s missed out on the latest England squad and he might think the only way for him to get back into that is by playing regular football. That’s not going to happen at Man City, so he might be open to a move away.”
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Big changes teased at City
With the club already allowing four transfers to be done in January including the deals to bring Nico Gonzalez from Porto and Marmoush from Frankfurt, there is a sense multiple figures could exit as the end of the old era looks upon Pep Guardiola’s side.
Kevin De Bruyne’s deal expires in the summer and if Grealish exits then we could see more additions – something which commentator Guy Mowbray has backed.
“There’s going to be a huge amount of changes at this club, I would think, in the summer. I think there could be some some really big news out of this place, or coming into this place,” he said on BBC Sport.
“There’s three or four need to go out and four or five need to come in. Watching that performance today, they’re a long way off finding the answers again.”
