Jack Grealish is FINISHED at Man City after scathing criticism from Pep Guardiola - struggling £100m man must leave now to save England career

Grealish was restricted to a six-minute cameo in City's latest Premier League outing, which saw the champions romp to a 4-1 home win over West Ham, courtesy of a Vladimir Coufal own goal, a trademark Erling Haaland brace, and a second-half strike from Phil Foden.

City are now 20 league games into the season, and Grealish has started only six of them. The former Villa star hasn't been helped by niggling fitness problems, but he seems to have dropped to the bottom of the attacking pecking order, with Guardiola favouring Savinho and Jeremy Doku on the left.

It's a sad situation that has been a long time coming for Grealish, who has not scored for City in any of his last 37 appearances, and has just three assists to his name since the start of last season - the same number Savinho managed in just 80 minutes on the pitch against West Ham. Grealish has been completely ineffective for far too long, and now he's paying the price.

Savinho was also the architect of City's much-needed 2-0 win at Leicester City on December 29, as he scored the opener before teeing up Haaland to wrap up the three points. The Brazilian winger had a slow start to life at the Etihad after his £31m ($39m) summer switch from Troyes, who are part of the City Football Group, but is now showing the same end product he delivered consistently during his impressive loan spell at Girona in 2023-24.

It's difficult to see Grealish getting back into the team if Savinho maintains this form. Indeed, when asked whether the 20-year-old could give Grealish the push he needs to rediscover his best level, Guardiola told reporters on Saturday: "I fought a lot for him [Grealish], fought a lot to be here – to say ‘come on, do it again, do it again’. Does anyone think Savinho doesn’t deserve to play? No. He deserves [it]. That’s why I play him because he produces. As much as he looks at himself, he will see the competition and he has to compete, himself. Savinho is in better shape and everything than Jack and that’s why I played Savinho."

He added: "Two weeks ago, Jack was injured and he needs rhythm and to play, but players need training. I don’t have any doubt about the quality of Jack or any of these players. But they have to, right now, today at 3pm, be at your best."

Guardiola is not usually one for criticising his players in public. It was a shocking outburst that suggests Guardiola is at the end of his tether with Grealish, having seen the arm around the shoulder approach fail time and time again. The question is: does Grealish still have a burning desire to try and prove himself to City's meticulous and relentlessly demanding head coach?

"I want the Jack that won the treble. But I try to be honest with myself for that," Guardiola replied when pressed further on what he expects from Grealish.

There were no question marks over Grealish's commitment during City's historic 2022-23 campaign, as he registered a respectable 16 goal involvements in 50 appearances across all competitions. However, Grealish only found the net five times himself, and was more of a facilitator than a leading man.

Haaland stole most of the headlines for his remarkable scoring exploits after joining the club from Borussia Dortmund, but Riyad Mahrez, Foden, Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne all reached double figures for goals, with the Belgian playmaker also racking up a staggering total of 31 assists.

Grealish did an admirable job of recycling possession and winning fouls in dangerous areas, but only made a decisive impact sporadically, and that was in a City team sweeping away all comers at home and abroad. The statistics suggest that Grealish's performance hasn't declined all that much; in fact, he's actually creating more chances and attempting more shots per 90 minutes this term than he did during the treble season - according to the Daily Mail.

But with City now struggling for consistency, Grealish's expected goals (xG) and dribble success rate have dropped. The quality around Grealish has dwindled, with Julian Alvarez and Mahrez sorely missed, and he's been unable to step up in a time of crisis.

The truth is, Grealish has never been the "ideal fit" for City. He needs freedom to express himself to truly thrive, which has never been on offer under Guardiola.

Grealish has won seven major trophies at the Etihad, including three Premier League titles and the Champions League, but hasn't ever looked like a £100m player. There is a sense that he has wasted the prime years of his career, and things will only get worse if he stays with City.

Former Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie has said as much, telling 10 bet: "It’s at the stage now where Jack should probably be thinking about leaving the football club. I don’t think that we’ve seen the best version of Grealish at City, or the version that steps out onto the grass and enjoys himself. We’ve only seen snippets, but I think that Jack is essentially playing in a way that his manager demands of him. When I watch Jack play for England, it’s like he’s a different person. We know he’s got stacks of ability, and we know he can contribute a lot more."

Grealish certainly looked like a liberated player when lining up for England during Lee Carsley's short spell in charge of the national team. The interim boss picked Grealish in all three of his squads between September and November, and he scored in Nations League victories over Ireland and Finland.

Carsley deployed Grealish as a No.10 in Dublin, and the position change brought the best out of the City man as he tied the Irish defence in knots. Grealish showed he still has a lot to offer England, bouncing back strongly after a heart-breaking omission from Gareth Southgate's Euro 2024 squad.

But his future with the national team is now uncertain. Thomas Tuchel officially started work as Southgate's permanent successor on January 1, and has since been doing the rounds at Premier League grounds across the country to assess the talent at his disposal.

England are blessed with strength in depth, particularly in attack, with Bukayo Saka, Cole Palmer, Foden, Anthony Gordon, Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze among those who have featured out wide for the national team in recent times. Tuchel may also decide to call up 20-year-old sensation Jamie Gittens, who is enjoying a stunning breakout season at Borussia Dortmund.

Grealish won't be in Tuchel's thinking when he names his first squad in March unless he finds a way to stand out ahead of his competition. That will simply not be possible if he doesn't find a new club this month, because the best-case scenario for him at City is to go back to being one of Guardiola's buttoned-up servants.

The Mail has reported that Tottenham and Newcastle are monitoring Grealish with the winter transfer window now open. A potential return to Villa has also been mooted, which would allow him to continue playing Champions League football.

Grealish is still under contract at City until 2027, and they would have to accept a huge loss on their initial investment to let him go, with Transfermarkt estimating that his value has plummeted to £37m ($46m). But Guardiola doesn't need Grealish anymore, and one of English football's formerly great entertainers desperately needs a fresh start.

It would be a huge shame if Grealish continues to accept his lot at City, before finally departing as a free agent with his best years firmly behind him in two years' time. Begiristain was right about one thing: Grealish is an "incredible talent", one that used to make everything look effortless and played with the carefree abandon of a promising kid at his local park.

For a long time, Grealish was compared to Paul Gascoigne, who was integral to England's runs to the 1990 World Cup and 1996 European Championship semi-finals. "I thrive off those kind of comparisons. I love Gazza," Grealish said in 2020. "I loved the way he played football with such freedom and such joy. You hear so many people speak about him and say he was just a joy to watch - and I think that is the biggest compliment you can have really. When people say to me: 'It is just a joy to watch you', it makes me happy because that is what I want to do. I just want to entertain people."

It seems that Grealish has forgotten what is most important to him. There is still time for him to turn things around, and perhaps even emulate Gazza under Tuchel at the next World Cup - but not if he remains a ghost of his old self in Manchester.