JACK GREALISH accepted the 2023-24 season was a “write off”.
The Manchester City star, 28, won a third Premier League title in three seasons at the Etihad since his £100million transfer from Aston Villa.
But throughout the campaign, he faced plenty of struggles both professionally and personally and a source told The Athletic he had wiped the campaign away to start afresh next term.
Off the pitch, Grealish was understandably rocked by the shocking ordeal his family went through in late December.
The footballer was playing against Everton when a gang of burglars stormed into his home when his family were inside, hearing the intruders upstairs.
Fiancee Sasha Attwood, his parents, gran, two sisters and brother took cover as the thieves stole £1million worth of jewellery and watches.
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They pressed the panic button and Grealish said: “I can’t begin to explain how devastated I am over the burglary.
“This has been a traumatic experience for all of us, I am just so grateful that nobody was hurt.”
Grealish had only recently moved into the £5.6m mansion at the time of the incident and was deeply distracted by the impact it had.
On the pitch, Grealish simply did not play as much as he wanted.
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Part of that was due to injuries.
Grealish suffered a nasty leg injury in September that limited his ability to play many minutes.
He said: “Our doctor said it’s the worst dead leg he’s ever seen, by a mile
“If you get a dead leg and you have the haematoma (a bruise due to bleeding outside the blood vessels), a bad one, it’s around six centimetres. Mine was like 20 centimetres.”
Then to make matters worse, later on in the season, he rushed back too quickly to try and force himself back into contention – only to limp off early with recurring problems.
However, it was not just physical issues holding Grealish back – but psychological ones too.
To say Grealish revelled in the Treble celebrations would be an understatement and The Athletic suggest his motivation dropped off when he came back after the summer to his the same levels again.
That came to a head at the beginning of May as City battled Arsenal down to the wire of the Premier League season.
Pep Guardiola gave the players a few days off after thrashing Wolves 5-1 before facing Fulham a week later.
But he was unhappy with Grealish’s efforts in training upon his return and did not give the ex-Villa skipper another minute of action before the end of the season.
Jack Grealish’s Euro 2024 place in jeopardy
By Martin Blackburn and Charlie Wyett
JACK GREALISH is sweating on a Euro 2024 place after a nightmare end to the season.
The £100million star celebrated Manchester City’s four-in-a-row title success on a bus parade yesterday.
But now he is battling with Tottenham’s James Maddison to secure a spot in Gareth Southgate’s England squad.
Cole Palmer, Jarrod Bowen and Anthony Gordon all look certain to go after excellent seasons with their clubs — while Bukayo Saka is guaranteed a spot.
But Grealish, 28, has struggled and his lack of match action for his club will be a big concern for the Three Lions boss.
The former Aston Villa captain has featured in only one of City’s final five matches.
That was a ten-minute run out in the 5-1 win over Wolves this month.
He was not thrown on at Wembley as the below-par champs desperately searched for a way back in to Saturday’s 2-1 FA Cup Final defeat to rivals Manchester United.
City boss Pep Guardiola explained his decision afterwards by admitting the attacker has “struggled” this season.
He has challenged him to recapture the form from the back end of the 2022-23 season when he helped the club secure an historic Treble.
Guardiola said: “He will be back. He’s struggled this season — Jeremy Doku has made an incredible step forward as everyone has seen in the last games.
“But Jack will be back at the level of last season — I’m pretty sure.”
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It means he ended the season with just three goals in 36 appearances – all coming in a hot streak in December – and a total of ten Premier League starts.
That has, naturally, led to speculation of a transfer exit away from Manchester this summer.
SunSport revealed Bayern Munich are weighing up a shock approach for the winger in the hope of luring him to Germany – although Guardiola is keen to keep hold of him.
They sat down for showdown talks ahead of the FA Cup final – in which Grealish was an unused sub – with the manager challenging and pushing him to rediscover his best form once again next season.
But speaking of Germany, Grealish’s poor form could see him left off the plane to the Euros.
He was named in Gareth Southgate’s initial 33-man training squad.
But with the likes of Phil Foden, James Maddison, Cole Palmer, Jarrod Bowen and Anthony Gordon all battling it out for the left-winger spot – Bukayo Saka is almost guaranteed to start on the right – Grealish faces an uphill battle to make the final England squad, let alone the starting XI.
He admitted in April: “It’s been a difficult season for me personally, after the highs of last year.
‘JACK WILL BE BACK’
“I spoke to the manager a lot and he’s been so good with me. I owe him a little bit and want to repay him now with my performances and the team as well.”
Grealish then added after winning the Premier League: “I don’t feel like I’ve performed well this season at all.
“Pep’s an unbelievable guy.
“I’ve had times where I’ve struggled off the pitch, you know, I’ll openly say that and he’s been there for me so much, I can only thank him.
“He’s a brilliant manager on the pitch but when I’ve been in his office he’s helped me.”
Guardiola, meanwhile, is confident he can get the best out Grealish once again.
He said: “Jack will be back.
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“He’s struggled this season and Jeremy Doku has made an incredible step forward as everyone has seen in the last games.
“But Jack will be back at the level of last season, I’m pretty sure.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
