Manchester City have enjoyed a lot of success over recent years on a domestic level and on the European stage.
In addition to becoming the first side to win four consecutive Premier League trophies last season, City have also laid their hands on three European titles.
This is in part due to the experienced management of Pep Guardiola and the impressive first-team squad he’s built at the Etihad Stadium over the years.
In this latest season, the Blues are on the hunt to win another league trophy.
However, Guardiola said he’s not eager to win a fifth consecutive Premier League title in the way he was to break the record of winning four in a row.
Despite that, a pundit has now made a claim about a particular figure in the City squad who has previously played a big role in the club’s previous title victories.
Danny Murphy claims Jack Grealish Man City form has dropped
In a recent video shared on the talkSPORT YouTube channel, Danny Murphy said this when asked if he thinks Jack Grealish can still be considered a game-changer following his latest England call-up.
He said: “I think he’s got wonderful attributes that make him different from a lot of the other players in that squad.
“But in terms of end product, which is what you want in the final third of the pitch, he’s behind too many of them to start in the England team, for me.
“We’ve got unique players now, I mean brilliant players actually, in [Cole] Palmer, [Phil] Foden Bellingham who give you more, in terms of assists and goals.
“Now when you play in one of the attacking areas on the football pitch at any level, your job is to create, make and score goals and be a game-changer.
“Jack’s unique attribute that he has more than any of them is the ability to keep the ball and travel with the ball, and then the strength he has that none of them really have in the same way.
“So I’m not saying there’s not a place for him, but if you’re asking me to pick a best XI when all our players are fit he can’t get in it, because we’ve got so much quality that produces more in the final third and it’s as simple as that.
Murphy was then asked if he thinks Grealish was better when he was at Aston Villa or if he has become a better version of himself since joining City, saying this in response.
He said: “I think the season when they won the treble in the second half of that season, he was absolutely outstanding, and Pep played him in all the big games because he was bang on it physically with and without the ball.
“He was producing with the ball and his work off the ball was as good as it’s ever been, and that’s why Pep constantly played him in the big games because he trusted him.
“And what he gave in that City side was lovely balance because they had other match-winners who scored goals. Jack had wonderful ability, as I just said, to keep the ball and get him up the pitch, but he worked really hard off the ball.
“Maybe he’s up and down with that, maybe his physicality is a bit up and down. That’s why sometimes we see him in the team [for] six weeks for City and then out of the team for six weeks.
“He’s got to get back to that second half of the season when they won the Treble is what he’s got to get back to be pushing the first XI for England.”
How has Grealish started the season for City?
Having been left out of the Three Lions squad for the 2024 European Championship, which Grealish has said was the wrong decision for England by Gareth Southgate, the winger has been fairly prominent in City’s team this season.
Specifically, the 28-year-old has started six of the nine matches he’s appeared in across all competitions, delivering two assists along the way.
Despite only having 328 minutes of league action under his belt, Grealish has made more carries into the penalty area (22) than any other City player.
He also has the third-highest total of key passes (12) made in the squad, highlighting how effective he has been in terms of creating chances.
Prior to the season starting, Guardiola revealed that Grealish was in perfect shape for City’s pre-season period.
This could explain why the Englishman has had a positive start to the campaign.
However, with Murphy now saying Grealish needs to get back to the form he showed in City’s Treble-winning season when he appeared in 50 games in total, this is something for the winger to aim for going forward.
