Danny Murphy has praised Jack Grealish for his efforts on the pitch last season for Manchester City but warned him about his celebrations off the pitch.
At the end of his second season with the Citizens, the Englishman lifted his second Premier League title as well as his first FA Cup and his first Champions League trophy.
During the club’s celebrations after the European final, the winger found himself getting a lot of media coverage, mostly to do with how much he was drinking and partying.
This has since led to one pundit sharing his views on the player, his latest season at City and his extravagant celebrations in the aftermath as well as his personality in general.
Murphy praises Grealish
Speaking on talkSPORT, Murphy said this about Grealish.
He said: “I think he’s got to be a little bit careful if I’m honest.
“I love him and I think this season, he’s obviously done the right things away from the pitch to be able to perform how he has done on it.
“His main improvement, people talk about getting to know the Pep [Guardiola] way, which is fair enough tactically it takes a bit of time but physically he’s better than I’ve ever seen him.
“He plays the last 10 minutes like he does the first 10. His strength and his ability to maintain the ball under pressure is as good as anyone in Europe.
“You can’t get the ball off the lad and his end product has got better and that’s come from him, not gaining more ability but from gaining physical improvement and confidence.
“He’s obviously looking after himself really well and training really hard. When I say I’m a little bit concerned in what you see off the pitch near the end of the season, was only in terms more for his long-term, the longevity, because if you’re partying hard in the summers it does take its toll.”
Bearing in mind how the 27-year-old scored two more goals and delivered four more assists in the Premier League last season compared to his debut campaign, this backs up Murphy’s point about Grealish’s improvement in terms of his end product.
In fact, the attacker’s overall league performances across the 2021/22 season earned him a season rating of 7.16/10 from WhoScored, which is lower than the rating of 7.33/10 he picked up this time around, further highlighting his improvement under Guardiola.
This all shows why Murphy has been so complimentary about the England international’s endeavours on the pitch and is concerned about his partying potentially hampering the longevity of his career.
Moving forward, if Grealish can keep putting the work in on the training pitch and delivering in games, he’ll surely play a massive part in potentially seeing City continue to win titles.
