How ‘clever’ Jack Grealish has maximised his career despite questions being asked of record-breaking £100m Man City transfer

West Midlands native Grealish enjoyed a meteoric rise on the back of making his senior breakthrough at Aston Villa. Having found himself playing Championship football in 2019, a record-breaking switch to the Etihad Stadium was completed in August 2021.

A nine-figure fee changed hands in that agreement, with City rewriting the history books when it comes to the recruitment of British stars. Pep Guardiola saw a place for added creativity in his plans.

The demanding Catalan coach now stands accused of having reined Grealish in, to the point that he became an altogether different player while often operating down City’s left flank. Willingness to express himself and get at opponents is considered to have waned down the years.

Just 17 goals have been registered for the Blues through 157 appearances, with a slow side down the pecking order in Manchester leading to a loan spell at Everton being sanctioned in the summer of 2025. A spark was rekindled there, before suffering an unfortunate foot injury.

There is now talk of Grealish finding a new permanent home, if City agree to drop his asking price, with many of the opinion that a fresh start is required. It may be that one is found, with seven pieces of silverware having been collected in Manchester - including three Premier League titles and a Champions League crown.

Quizzed on what Grealish needs next, ex-City defender Hendry - speaking in association with Localsinsider.com - told GOAL: “Jack came with a massive price tag, coming from Villa, and he has changed his game quite a lot in relation to how the team play - more than how Jack Grealish played at Villa.

“I remember when I was at Blackburn Rovers as an academy coach and number two with the U23s, there was a young Jack Grealish at Villa. I can remember saying to Gordon Cowens, who was my oppo that night as the manager of the Villa under 21s or the 23s, ‘wow, what a talent he is’.He was something else, to be fair, because as a kid, he stuck out.

“But I think what he did is, when he went to City, he sacrificed his game a little bit in order to be part of the team and to bring to the team what Pep wanted. And there's a lot of players who can't adapt like that. And fair play to him because obviously he's got all the riches of the honours to show for it as well as, which is what a player, deep down, wants to achieve. You want to win things.

“Irrespective of the big price tag and the quality and the ability that Jack Grealish has got, I think he's played his career, and he's not been without his injuries, but he's played his career really, really well.

“And you've got to give him credit for that because at the end, when his career's over, he's got the honours and the riches to show for it. And I take my hat off to him because he has actually sacrificed a bit of his career in order to make that achievement.

“As a footballer, he's been clever. That's the way I see. He might go on a permanent, if somebody comes in, but he might want to go back to City and have another go. He has got a year left on his contract so he might be saying, ‘you know what, I'm going back there to try and achieve another year’. Of course, it's a different coach. It's a different manager that's in charge and he's going to go and win him all over again.”

Grealish, who continues to work his way back towards full fitness after undergoing surgery on a stress fracture, has linked up with the City squad that are now working with new head coach Enzo Maresca.

A familiar face to some of those at the Etihad - with the Italian having previously filled an assistant role alongside Guardiola - has some big decisions to make regarding comings and goings before the next transfer deadline passes on September 1.