JACK GREALISH faces a crucial summer as he battles to get his career back on track.
The £100million ace has fallen out of favour for England and Manchester City in the last 12 months.
And he must fight to win back the full faith of Pep Guardiola when he returns to training at the Etihad next month.
Grealish, 28, will be one of just a handful of first-team players who go on City’s pre-season USA tour at the end of July.
That gives him a chance to prove to his manager he still has the mentality and hunger to succeed for the champions.
Yet it may not be as simple as that for the ex-Aston Villa skipper as he faces even more competition for his spot.
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City are likely to take Brazilian wing sensation Savio — who earned rave reviews for sister club Girona this season — to the States with them.
His City move is due to be rubber-stamped in the coming weeks and boss Guardiola wants a good look at him in pre-season.
The 20-year-old prefers to play off the left wing and cut in like Grealish.
But that is also the position where Jeremy Doku shone over the last few weeks of the season.
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The Belgian’s hot form was partly why Grealish played only ten minutes of City’s crucial last five games of the season.
And to make it even more alarming, the minutes he did get were when his team were 5-1 up against Wolves.
City have no plans to cash in on him so, unless he wants a fresh start and a sizeable offer comes in, he will be at the Etihad next term.
Guardiola remains a huge fan of Grealish but there are question marks over whether he has the attitude and desire which the Catalan demands.
Grealish admitted he ‘struggled’ off the pitch at times this season after picking up his third Prem title medal last month.
He found it tough to get motivated on the back of last season’s Treble and battled different injuries in a frustrating and stop-start season.
There is also a feeling Grealish is a free spirit and that the discipline and structure of a Guardiola team does not suit him.
His lack of minutes no doubt contributed to boss Gareth Southgate’s decision to leave him out of his Euro 2024 squad.
Grealish is said to be devastated and there will be much to ponder as he heads off on holiday.
A year ago this weekend, City completed the Treble by ending their long wait for a Champions League title in Istanbul.
Grealish was at the heart of it all — playing the whole match against Inter, just as he had in the FA Cup final seven days earlier. He was also at the centre of the celebrations — leading his team-mates on a one-night trip to Ibiza.
Then Grealish made the most of the victory parade, lapping up the attention in that iconic photo on the back of the bus.
How different it was this year as Doku recreated that pose — while Grealish was filmed almost falling off the bus.
Now he is off the plane to Germany, too.
Southgate’s men will be hoping to feature in the final in Berlin on July 14.
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Around the same time, Grealish will be returning to City training with just a few other first-teamers.
Pre-season is a chance to put a marker down for the new season and, after a tough few weeks, he needs to take it.
What Southgate said about axed England stars
WHAT Gareth Southgate said about his axed England stars after confirming his 26-man England squad for Euro 2024.
Harry Maguire
“The decision on Harry [Maguire] is totally about his physical condition and his recovery from the injury. There is no other reason as he is one of our strongest centre-backs.
“Harry has made some progress, but it’s been complicated and we wouldn’t have had him in the group stages. There were too many hurdles to get through without being clear where we might get to.
“Knowing we haven’t got a clean bill of health across the rest of the backline, we need players who are fit and ready to go from the start.
“It was a really difficult call, you know how I feel about Harry, what he’s done for England and for me as a manager. “
Jack Grealish
“I have just delivered a really difficult conversation to a lad who is devastated.
“I think the world of him as a kid.“It certainly doesn’t get any easier.
“You put yourself in the shoes of a player, a parent. You understand that for these players this is a devastating moment.
“We knew we had a couple of really difficult days coming up.”
James Maddison
“Madders [Maddison] and Jack [Grealish] would have provided us with something different as well and they’ve been tough calls.
“They’re calls we’ve gone over and over and over as a group of staff to try to be fair and to try to use the right rationale.
“We back our decisions but we recognise we could have gone a different route. The boys are big characters, fabulous team-mates and great boys to work with.
“It’s sad to have to deliver that news to them.”
Jarrad Branthwaite
“It’s a bit early for Jarrad [Branthwaite]. He has had a fabulous season, it was good to get him on the pitch the other night.
“But of course, in an ideal world, you’d like that balance of left-footers. For him to be in ahead of the others, I don’t think it would have been the right call at this stage.”
Jarell Quansah
“Jarell Quansah has stayed with us. He’s not had the experience of an England international at Wembley. It’ll be great for him to be us for the game.
“Hopefully we’re not needing to call anyone else in.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
