In a recent report, ESPN has claimed that Manchester City are eyeing a move for Aston Villa playmaker Jack Grealish this summer. It is believed that Man City boss Pep Guardiola wants to strengthen his midfield options for the new season by recruiting the English attacker during this summer transfer window (via ESPN).
Grealish’s Excellent Season At Villa Park
Grealish enjoyed another sensational season with the Villans as he produced a run of productive displays to lead his team to a strong 11th place finish in the Premier League. The 25-year-old has registered seven goals and 12 assists in 27 matches for the West Midlands side last season across all competitions.
The Birmingham-born talent has been a consistent performer for Dean Smith’s side as he averaged 1.2 tackles, 0.5 interceptions, 1.9 shots, 3.1 key passes, 0.7 crosses and 2.5 dribbles per game in the Premier League. He has even distributed the ball relatively well after making 83.3% of his attempted passes in the English top tier (stats via whoscored).
The seven-time England international has carried the major share of Aston Villa’s creative workload over the past few seasons. At 25, Grealish is entering the prime years of his playing career, so it makes sense for him to join a top club like Man City this summer.
What Will The English Playmaker Add To Pep Guardiola’s Team?
Grealish is a deceptively quick wide player who can complete some energetic dribbles down the left-wing. He excels at engineering some inviting chances for others around him and has a knack for finding space that helps get a few shots in on-target.
The England international is a pure striker of the ball and can generate a lot of power with minimal backlift. He is also a natural leader and can get the best out of his teammates in the opposition half. We can expect him to add plenty of quality in the form of goals and creativity to Guardiola’s frontline for the coming seasons.
Grealish has what it takes to be a key asset for Man City as long as he can cope with the high expectations surrounding a potential move to the Etihad Stadium. He is already good enough to earn regular playing minutes under Guardiola’s stewardship and could help the Premier League champions maintain their stranglehold in domestic football.
However, Grealish’s addition could hamper the growth of Phil Foden who has impressed playing as a left-sided wide player in Guardiola’s attack. Maybe playing Grealish in the number ten position as a false forward might be an option for the Mancunian outfit to consider next season if they can find a way to get a deal done for the Villans skipper this summer.
