Jack Grealish is at a career crossroads. Which club could reignite his best?

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Jack Grealish is at a crossroads.

Just two years after being one of the main characters in an unforgettable treble-winning season for Manchester City, the 29-year-old started just seven Premier League games in 2024-25.

While niggling injury setbacks have not been kind to him this season, it is clear that Grealish has fallen out of Pep Guardiola’s plans. The writing was on the wall when he was an unused substitute when City required a goal in their FA Cup final defeat to Crystal Palace. Then for City’s final game of the Premier League season away to Fulham, Grealish failed to make the matchday squad.

“It’s nothing personal with Jack,” Guardiola said after the Fulham match. “I’m the person who fought for him to come here and the person who fought for him to stay here this season and the next season. I’m the one who said I want Jack Grealish.

“Now he didn’t come (on) because he didn’t come (on), but not something else. What happens in the future is a job for Txiki (Begiristain, City’s director of football), Hugo (Viana, the club’s sporting director) and the agents.”

However you want to rationalise it, Grealish simply has not played enough football in recent seasons. He has played less than one-third of the available league minutes for two consecutive campaigns.

It is worth noting that Grealish’s drop-off in minutes has not come at the expense of his creative numbers when he does get on the pitch.

A single assist in each of his last two Premier League seasons is a poor return whichever way you look at it, but a closer look at Grealish’s expected assists (xA) — which denote the expected goals value of the shot that is assisted — suggest that his underlying output per 90 minutes has remained far more consistent (red dots below).

Put simply, you cannot legislate for a team-mate missing an opportunity, whether you put the ball on a plate or not, and Grealish might feel hard done by, given the quality of chances he has created.

There is the widely held view that Guardiola’s disciplined positional play has been the antithesis of Grealish’s off-the-cuff style, which is based on freedom and fluidity.

There are countless other examples, but one of Grealish’s typical behaviours within Guardiola’s possession-dominant style is shown in City’s game against Leicester City this season. Grealish receives the ball on the touchline with a stubborn 5-3-2 block facing him. After a few strides forward, he turns back and plays a simple ball backwards for Josko Gvardiol to circulate possession.

City’s general attacking structure has not helped at times this season, where a reluctance to make off-ball runs in behind has often left wingers isolated and forced to come back inside. Nevertheless, when zooming out, it is clear that Grealish’s final season as a No 10 at Aston Villa was drastically different to his subsequent three seasons at City.

His pass sonar below — which denotes the direction, frequency and distance of his passes — makes clear how much of Grealish’s profile descended into playing a simple pass backwards within a positional Guardiola system.

Grealish has had spells as a deeper-lying midfielder this season, most notably in their home victory over Nottingham Forest in December, when Guardiola praised Grealish’s ability to control the tempo and accelerate the game.

That “pausa” is a trait highly regarded by Guardiola, but Grealish’s free-spirit style sees him thrive in transitional moments — a rare occurrence in east Manchester. Give him space to run into, and he can punish opponents in the blink of an eye during transitional moments, as shown below when driving forward to assist Erling Haaland against West Ham United in 2023.

So, if not City, then which club would best suit Grealish across Europe?

Ironically, former club Villa would be an ideal location for Grealish to return to — both from a tactical standpoint and with Unai Emery’s ability to reignite players’ careers.

Had things gone differently in the final game of the season, Villa would be boasting consecutive seasons in the Champions League under Emery and be in a far healthier financial situation when considering potential incomings.

A narrow No 10 role would suit Grealish perfectly if it were not for the fact that Emery’s current squad is already stacked with midfielders capable of operating on the left or central attacking areas — with Morgan Rogers, Jacob Ramsey, John McGinn all able to fulfil the role.

Elsewhere in the Premier League, it is not financially realistic, but the style profile of Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth would all be an exciting prospect for Grealish to thrive in transition with greater freedom, with two of those teams able to offer European football next season.

As the graphic below highlights, that trio were among the highest teams for their share of first passes forward during attacking transitions — the polar opposite to City. Grealish need only look at England international team-mates Morgan Gibbs-White or Eberechi Eze to see how similar profiles of players have thrived in such a style.

In a slightly more realistic world, Tottenham’s return to the Champions League would provide a good bargaining tool to attract Grealish’s attention.

Spurs have primarily focused on signing players under the age of 23 under Ange Postecoglou and sporting director Johan Lange, so Grealish’s age and wage demands would likely count against him — even if there is tactical value to be indulged.

While not as transitional in attack, the declining form and fitness of Son Heung-min means that a spot on the left side of Postecoglou’s attack is up for grabs. Spurs are still well-stocked at left wing but Grealish’s versatility to operate as a winger or an inside No 8 could act as a mirrored version of Dejan Kulusevski on Spurs’ right side.

With Grealish’s penchant for a dribble, there is a strong case to be made that the 29-year-old would thrive when attempting such take-ons in wide areas, with underlapping runs from full-backs to drag opposition markers away. For context, only Barcelona and Real Madrid have attempted more take-ons than Spurs across Europe’s top five leagues this season.

In continental Europe, there is justification why Grealish has been linked with Serie A champions Napoli this summer.

As shown in The Athletic’s team playstyle wheel below, Napoli’s route to the Scudetto was built on a solid defensive foundation (chance prevention, 97 out of 99) but would benefit from further creative dynamism going forward (chance creation, 62 out of 99). They also have an attacking style that does look to make the most of transitional moments (patient attack, 41 out of 99).

While Giacomo Raspadori performed admirably as a left-sided attacker after Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s January move to Paris Saint-Germain, Napoli do remain a little light on their left flank. Grealish’s dribbly style aligns with the Georgian’s profile.

British expatriates have enjoyed successful moves to Italy in recent seasons, most notably Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour’s hero status since arriving in Naples — but also Kyle Walker, Fikayo Tomori, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Tammy Abraham (Milan), and, to a lesser extent, Dele (Como).

The English contingent at Milan would be an attractive prospect to Grealish, but the best tactical option in Italy would surely be the newly crowned Serie A champions.

If it were a transitional style that Grealish was looking for, then a glance over at the Bundesliga would certainly be worthwhile. Some might point to a potential Florian Wirtz-shaped hole that could need filling at Bayer Leverkusen, but Eintracht Frankfurt might actually be a more tactically interesting destination for Grealish’s skillset.

Dino Toppmoller’s side finished third in Germany’s top division — their highest for more than 30 years — to secure Champions League football next season, with one of the most transitional styles in Europe, as shown below by their volume of direct attacks.

Frankfurt might vary their formation used, but the principles have largely remained the same. However, while Toppmoller’s side have thrived in open spaces, they have had struggles against opponents who sit in a deep block — meaning Grealish’s ability to unlock defences in either phase of the game would be warmly welcomed.

Grealish need only look at fellow Englishman Jadon Sancho as a player who found solace in Germany after difficulties on and off the pitch, returning to Borussia Dortmund following struggles at Manchester United. With an English contingent of Harry Kane, Eric Dier, Jamie Gittens and Carney Chukwuemeka all having success in Germany this season, Grealish should not turn his nose up at a move to the Bundesliga.

Of course, if any club were to take a gamble on Grealish, they would do so knowing that a deal would come with its own caveats. Given his current contract — believed to be £300,000 per week — runs until 2027, a move would require any club to go deep into their pockets.

Doing so would also be accepting that Grealish’s resale value is rapidly diminishing, given that he turns 30 in September. With his public socialising remaining a bone of contention, many clubs do not have the time to wait for Grealish’s fitness and form to return organically.

“Do I want the Jack that won the treble? Yeah, I want it, but I try to be honest with myself,” Guardiola said in January.

“I fought a lot for him, fought a lot to be here. I know that he can do it because I saw him. I saw his level and I want that, every single training session and every single game.”

If a prospective manager can tease out that treble-winning version of Grealish, any deal would be well worth making.

(Top photo: Jack Grealish against Bournemouth; Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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