In an exclusive interview with BoyleSports , Andy Townsend speaks out about the struggles of Jack Grealish at Man City and where he could end up come the summer Transfer Window. Townsend also argues that Jack Grealish would have twice as many international caps if he picked the Republic of Ireland.
He also his gave his assessment of rising Southampton star Tyler Dibbling drawing comparisons between both him and Grealish
Pep Cold On Grealish
I think there is plenty more to come from Jack Grealish, but it looks like Pep Guardiola has gone cold on him. He doesn't feature him enough now.
At one point when they won the treble, he was the key man, the go-to man, in most weeks, he was that good. But now Pep has gone more with Savinho and Jeremy Doku in the wide areas looking for more out-and-out pace and being a little bit more direct in that respect.
Grealish isn’t surplus to requirements at City, he's still part of it, but he won't be happy that he's not getting a game, and you can only put up with that for so long. You should only put up with that for so long.
Huge Changes Ahead for Man City
You shouldn't sit around and just play 10 games a season and come on for 15 minutes here and there. That's never good enough for the best players and Jack has always been one.
I think is happiest and his best when he's part of it, right in the thick of it and playing week in, week out. I think there will be huge changes at City this summer and I think it’s highly likely that Grealish will be one of those that will move on.
Milan Move?
I think going abroad would suit Jack Grealish. He's at an age now and has a level of experience. He's a dad and so he's got a family that he'll want to look after and enjoy the last chapter, this last period of his career and it will go pretty quickly.
I don't think he should be averse to going abroad at all. I think that would make a lot of sense, there's a lot of good clubs out there.
Salary Issues
The only issue for Jack is obviously salary. I would imagine it's still a significant amount of money that he potentially would be walking away from. But at some point as a player, you've got to decide what you want to do.
If you're prepared to give that up in order to play week in, week out or play more often than not and kind of really feel the love and feel like you're absolutely part of what's going on, then you've got to be prepared to walk away from the money and then go and play.
I'm sure he is already a very wealthy boy and can easily do that. But I think it's got to be the right club. I think it's got to be the right challenge. It's got to be a place that his family would enjoy living and working in. But abroad, I think, would suit him. I think he'd do very well.
He's still got two years left on his contract so there's still going to be a healthy fee involved with Jack Grealish. I don't think Pep would want him to go. I don't think he would be ushering him out.
I think there are others at the front of that queue this summer that are going to be leaving at City. But from Jack's point of view, you've got to play. He's seen now that his England place is going to be under threat. He's not going to play.
Grealish World Cup Aspirations
He's not going to get in the squads if he's not playing enough football and there's a big World Cup next summer. This is a big time for him, and I don't think he can afford to delay.
I’m pretty sure that at the end of the season, he’ll sit down with the club and see if he can find a new challenge. He’s gone to City and won everything under Pep Guardiola, he's done all of that now and I think serve everybody best if he moves on.
Jack Grealish to Tottenham?
When Jack Grealish was at Aston Villa he would be picking the ball up on the halfway line or just over the halfway line and then he'd be running 20, 30 yards, committing people, going past people, yes, getting his fouls like he does and drawing defenders out of position. He did that brilliantly and maybe he could reignite that at Tottenham.
He was really exciting to watch. At City, he did have that spell in which he was really hot during that amazing treble campaign. But in the main, he gets the ball sort of 25 yards from goal in the wide areas and he's asked to tease people out of position before threading it through to somebody else.
I think he's got a lot more than that, I really do. I think he can rediscover what he had at Villa which is his carrying of the ball. He's not lightning, we know that, but he uses his body and his great physique to his advantage and does it very well.
I'm sure there's a home for him at other Premier League clubs, but he may feel that this will be a good time to potentially go and play abroad and I wouldn't blame him for doing it.”
Grealish Ireland Regrets?
Jack Grealish would have double the international caps if he picked Ireland over England.
I've never agreed with the FIFA stance in the way that you can play friendly matches for one country, but because you haven't appeared in a tournament qualifier or tournament game you could then decide you want to go and play for someone else.
That's not how I believe it should be. No one is forcing anyone to play international football. They're all grown men capable of understanding and making decisions for the here and now that are going to impact you long-term.
I don't think you should be allowed to change. That's just an opinion. The rules are what they are. Jack would definitely have had a ton more caps playing for Ireland and he and Declan Rice would have absolutely been pivotal at the forefront of anything that's happened with Ireland.
The two players would argue that the Irish team over the last few years has been really poor, and it has. But maybe with their inclusion, it would have been a lot healthier.
£100 Million Dibbling
Tyler Dibling is a young prospect at Southampton and could be integral to them coming back up to the Premier League next season and they know that. Jack Grealish did that with Aston Villa and Dibling certainly caught the eye of clubs, but he has plenty of time in front of him.
The £100million price tag, I don't think anybody's gonna be paying that for him, but I do like him. I do think he's a talent. It's been a really tough season for him and his team-mates at Southampton, but I think the club are just putting down a little bit of a marker there and saying to anyone if you think you're gonna come and get him for £30m because we are going down then think again.
The club holds all the aces. By putting that sort of number on it, I think basically what they're saying is forget about coming after him for £30m or £40m.
The next Grealish
He actually plays like Grealish did at Villa. I've actually said this before about Tyler Dibling. I've watched him run with the ball very well. In this day and age, we've got so many players wanting to go pass and keep the ball moving until something happens so refreshing to see somebody run with the ball.
That's what we all like about Nottingham Forest this season. They've got those players that run with the ball and make something happen. Tyler Dibling gets the ball, and he can travel with it and breeze past players, that's becoming quite a rare commodity in modern-day football.
He's got a good physique, very similar to Jack, and it wouldn't surprise me if Southampton do something similar in terms of getting relegated but keeping their young player and coming back up. When he does go, he will go for serious money, that’s why they’ve said £100 million from the off.
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