As recently as last season, Jack Grealish was a shoo-in for Pep Guardiola at Man City, however, such are the demands at the title holders, that any loss of form can have devastating consquences.
The England ace has pretty much lost his starting place to Jeremy Doku in the 2023/24, because the 21-year-old signing from Rennes has been in a rich vain of form ever since joining the club.
Not that Grealish has necessarily gone off the boil, but it appears that he isn’t at the level which his demanding manager requires.
Fabrizio Romano, writing in his exclusive Daily Briefing for CaughtOffside, gave a definitive update on his current situation.
‘Eight months is a long time in football and many things can change, but at this stage there’s absolutely nothing negative with regards to Jack Grealish’s situation at Man City,’ he wrote.
‘The club have him in their future plans and he’s focused on City.’
The reason why Guardiola is the best coach around at present, and may well go on to become the best ever, is because his demands never lower and he evidently has no loyalty to players that are not giving him 100 percent effort each and every week.
Players want to play for him knowing that he will put those demands on them but accepting that success under him is almost guaranteed.
As BBC Sport reported early in November after a particularly good performance from Doku, Guardiola wants Grealish to be angry at being dropped in order that he is motivated to improve.