Graeme Souness has again criticised Jack Grealish, saying that since his record transfer to Manchester City, he hasn’t improved under Pep Guardiola.
After netting six goals and dishing up twelve assists in 26 Premier League games for Aston Villa, Grealish joined Man City in August 2021 in a £100 million deal.
Despite having a difficult season in his first year at the Etihad, the England international helped City win the Premier League for the second consecutive year.
But in the 2022–2023 campaign, Grealish’s form significantly improved as he established himself as a vital member of Guardiola’s team.
With 50 appearances, five goals and eleven assists, the 28-year-old Grealish helped City win the FA Cup, Champions League, and Premier League. Grealish was played in almost all the big games.
Grealish has, regrettably, been in and out of the lineup this season; Jeremy Doku appears to be the starter on the left flank currently.
Furthermore, Souness has acknowledged that Grealish hasn’t improved under Guardiola and has questioned if the player has even had that much influence at City.
“I can’t say I’m his biggest fan, no,” Souness told talkSPORT.
Asked if Grealish has improved since his move to City, Souness replied: “No. I don’t see any changes. In fact I think his stats may be worse at City than they were at Villa.”
The football pundit was then asked if Grealish has taken on more responsibilities since joining Pep Guardiola’s team, Souness said: “Maybe in the sense of dropping back, more enthusiasm to do the hard yards, the hard yards going back towards your goal. But you’re not buying that type of player because he defends really well for you.
“The priority for someone like that when you spend £100million, he’s going to be the difference in the big games. He’s going to be scoring lots of goals and creating lots of goals – none of that’s happened. Yeah he’s won some big trophies but I’d argue he’s in a very, very good team.”
Souness had already criticised Grealish once before. The most recent was when Souness, an ex-Liverpool midfielder, advised Grealish in December that he should take a “close look at himself” when Doku took his spot in the starting line-up.
The England international’s form this season has been inconsistent and he has failed to get a long run of games in the team.
