Michael Owen feels Jack Grealish is a great player, although he does not suit Manchester City’s system after some below-par displays recently.
Manchester City broke the British transfer record when they paid £100 million for Jack Grealish in the summer. The English attacker ended his lifelong association with Aston Villa to sign for Pep Guardiola’s side. He harbours an ambition to win the Premier League and the Champions League with the club.
Grealish was tremendous for Aston Villa, where he was revered for his style of play, becoming a household name among England fans. Since signing for Manchester City, Guardiola has placed massive trust in the attacker, allowing him to feature heavily on all fronts.
However, for his cause, Grealish has posted underwhelming numbers, scoring twice and assisting three times in 15 games across all competitions. The 26-year-old also featured against Club Brugge in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday as Manchester City ran out comfortable winners, although his own performance was sub-par.
There have been suggestions that Grealish may not fit their system very much due to his below-par performances for the club. Former Liverpool star Stan Collymore recently questioned Manchester City’s decision to spend so much on the attacker, and now Michael Owen has stated that Grealish might not fit the club’s system.
Owen spoke after Manchester City’s Champions League game and told BT Sport that the attacker, despite being a brilliant player, does not necessarily fit into their style of play. Daily Mail posted some of the quotes from the former Liverpool striker.
Owen said, “I am a huge fan of Jack Grealish, full stop. I love him. I think he is brave and takes the ball under pressure. He is exceptional. He will succeed because he is a very good player playing in a very good team, but will he be as good as he could be in another team? Maybe not.”
“I just don’t think he necessarily suits perfectly to Manchester City. I see Grealish as somebody, certainly at Villa, where he would take the ball from deep and be strong, and he is confident and will run 40/50 yards and earn a free kick after being tugged back.”
“He is the most fouled player in the Premier League by a mile. But I don’t think Man City want free kicks. When Man City get a free kick in the final third, they just put the ball down and start again. They want quick play and lots of passing. They don’t want to get a free kick and chip it into the box onto the head of a load of 5ft 5in players. It’s not really their game.”
“Grealish takes a touch all the time. He slows it down and commits players. Two or three come round him and he is fantastic but I don’t think he fits like a glove. He is going to score goals but he doesn’t fit like a glove.”
Grealish might not have been in full flow at Manchester City so far, but the player will be eager to prove the pundits and his naysayers wrong. Pep Guardiola, too, will aim to set the record straight, and it is clear that he is backing Grealish for success, after playing the English international heavily so far this term.