James Maddison has praised Manchester City winger Jack Grealish for one specific element in his game.
The 28-year-old has missed City’s two previous Premier League games through injury, although one of his international teammates has shared his thoughts on what the treble winner does on the pitch.
Maddison praises Grealish
Speaking in a recent video from the official England YouTube channel where he and some of his international teammates had to guess other members of the England squad based on their statistics from the new EA FC 24 game, Maddison said this after seeing Grealish’s pace rating of 76.
He said: “He definitely deserves more pace than that. He runs quick with the ball though he probably deserves more pace.”
City spent a club record fee of £100m to sign the Englishman from Aston Villa back in the 2021 summer transfer window.
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Since then, the attacker has made 93 appearances for City across all competitions, scoring 11 goals and supplying 16 assists along the way, winning the Premier League title on two occasions.
While Grealish may not be blessed with electric pace, the winger showed in the Premier League last season how effective he is on the ball, as Maddison mentioned.
For example, he ended the previous Premier League campaign with more successful take-ons (45) and progressive carries (143) than any other City player.
This highlights what the Englishman offers Pep Guardiola’s side and why his main attributes include his ability on the ball rather than his natural pace.
Moving forward, hopefully Grealish can get back into action as soon as possible and show why his ability on the ball in attacking positions is more important than how fast he can run.