Graeme Souness admits ‘I’m not Jack Grealish’s biggest fan’ and says he hasn’t improved under Pep Guardiola
Jack Grealish hasn't improved under Pep Guardiola, believes Graeme Souness, who says the Manchester City man hasn't lived up to his price tag.
The England forward joined City in the summer of 2021 in what was a then British record fee of £100million but it's been a mixed bag for him in terms of his individual form.
2
The 28-year-old has bagged a number of trophies, including the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League treble last season
The former Aston Villa star enjoyed a good second season at City but he's struggled this term with just three goals and two assists in 26 appearances.
Grealish went off injured during City's Champions League win against FC Copenhagen last week and there are even suggestions he may struggle to make it into the England squad for Euro 2024 next summer.
But Souness questioned whether it's ever been that good for Grealish at City, suggesting Guardiola hasn't been able to take his game to the next level.
READ MORE ON JACK GREALISH
"I can't say I'm his biggest fan, no," Souness told talkSPORT.
When asked if Grealish has improved under Guardiola, Souness responded: "No.
"I don't see any changes. In fact I think his stats may be worse at City than they were at Villa."
When asked if Grealish has taken on more responsibilities on the pitch, Souness said: "Maybe in the sense of dropping back, more enthusiasm to do the hard yards, the hard yards going back towards your goal.
Most read in Football
2
"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."
It is not the first time Souness has questioned the former Aston Villa man.
In 2022, he described him as 'good, not great' and the comments led to Grealish to actually respond.
The treble winner said: "He was obviously a great player and won a lot but I don't know what it is with what he says about me or what problem he's got."
Souness subsequently stated he would love to have a night out with the ex-Aston Villa skipper, which Grealish accepted on social media.
Grealish then stressed he wanted to bring along Paul Pogba - a victim of Souness' tirades in the past - with the Scotsman more than happy to share an evening with the pair, as long as the treble winner footed the bill.
Though they are still actually waiting for that dinner to happen.
Topics