Manchester City have completed the signing of Jack Grealish from Aston Villa for £100m in the biggest deal in English football history.
The 25-year-old midfielder joins on a six-year deal after the Premier League champions activated the £100m release clause in his Villa contract on Friday.
The transfer fee also breaks the previous record in English football held by Paul Pogba when he re-joined Manchester United for £93.25m from Juventus in 2016.
It’s a deal which also makes Jack Grealish the most expensive British footballer in football history, surpassing Gareth Bale when he joined Real Madrid from Tottenham in 2013 for £85million.
The deal marks a stunning statement of intent from Pep Guardiola and Manchester City as the Premier League champions embark on retaining their crown next season.
Jack Grealish has proved one of the most creative players in the Premier League since Aston Villa’s promotion three years ago, whether through his passing, his unerring dribbling with the ball, and his sheer will and bravery to take opponents on, its no surprise Pep Guardiola feels he is the right man to refresh his star-studded squad.
The Aston Villa faithful will of course, be gutted and disheartened at this move, after all Grealish has achieved with the club, not least his remarkable gifts and talents that have rescued them out of various difficult situations since his emergence in the first team.
Grealish has indeed become an iconic figure at his boyhood club, but certainly now feels the move to Manchester City, one of the best clubs in Europe and the best in England is one he cannot turn down, especially the lure of playing in Europe’s most prestigious competitions, the UEFA Champions League.
Also, playing under one of football’s most decorated coaches ever in Pep Guardiola is an opportunity many footballers right now would certainly kill for.
At 25 years of age, its an opportunity that doesn’t come around too often, so you’d almost forgive Grealish for making such a huge career decision.
While Aston Villa lick their wounds at the sight of Grealish’s departure, Manchester City and Guardiola will be licking their lips at the sight of possessing one of the best creators in the country and one of the most talented players this great nation has had to offer.
Now, Guardiola will be contemplating with both joy and anguish at how Grealish will fit in at such a talented and world class squad. How do you fit in both Kevin de Bruyne and Jack Grealish in the same XI? How will Guardiola look to improve Jack Grealish? What qualities will Grealish bring, and how will it complement Guardiola’s style?
First and foremost, the 25-year-old will add more of a cutting edge to Manchester City’s play. Guardiola’s side scored 83 goals last season, the most of any team in the division, and possessing someone of Grealish’s ilk will only increase that figure even further.
They do say in a title winning team, that adding more quality to it and improving the following year means even more greatness and sustained success, than just sticking with the same batch of players. The whole squad becomes hungrier, competitive and more vibrant and Guardiola is doing just that with the capture of Jack Grealish.
Aston Villa’s great loss, is Manchester City’s great gain.
Without Jack Grealish last year, Villa only won three of the 12 games he sat out injured. He is a player of great reward, incision, precision, dynamism, cutting thrust and a skill set that proves so unique and masterful in comparison to his fellow English counterparts.
Grealish’s talent is obvious.
In terms of total chances created, chances created from open play and assists, Grealish is right in the midst of the Premier League’s most devastating creators.
Grealish created 70 chances from open play last season, second only to Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes (77). He also formed 81 opportunities following ball carries in the last two Premier League seasons as shown above. This is all from just 26 Premier League games last year, even. 6 goals and 10 assists from 26 games is mightily impressive.
3.42 key passes, 3.46 final third passes, 6.91 progressive passes, 6.18 shot-creating actions (the two offensive actions leading directly to a shot, through passes, dribbles or drawing fouls) and 12.6 progressive carries per 90minutes all highlight how effective and influential Jack Grealish was to the Aston Villa cause.
All of those stats may increase at Manchester City, which poses such a scary thought for City’s rivals this coming season.
Many of the chances Grealish creates come after he’s dribbled with the ball, and he led the Premier League standings for 2020/21 in that particular field. Only Harry Kane, Hueng-Min Son and Bruno Fernandes had more assists following a carry and only Son, Marcus Rashford and Harvey Barnes scored more following a carry.
Grealish played far fewer minutes than any of those players, apart from Harvey Barnes, which only goes to show how dangerous Grealish is and just how much he runs with the ball. Progressive carries usually occur in the opposition half, are greater than five metres and move the ball at least five metres towards the opposition’s goal.
Grealish is absolutely devastating at performing such roles. Only three players – Adama Traore, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Pablo Hernandez – completed more per 90 than Grealish last season, but none of them were as devastating and as decisive with their carries as Grealish was.
Last season, Grealish carried the ball into the opposition penalty area a staggering 80 times, 3.29 times per 90mins. 18 more than Raheem Sterling, 32 more than Riyad Mahrez and 48 more than Bernardo Silva, already highlighting how much he offers more than Manchester City’s current options. Again, all of these staggering statistics despite Grealish only playing 26 games. He also ranks third in terms of passes into the box per 90 (2.96), behind his future teammate Kevin De Bruyne (3.56).
| Grealish compared to City attackers (2020/21) | Grealish | Sterling | Foden | Mahrez | Silva | De Bruyne |
| Games played | 26 | 31 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 25 |
| Goals | 6 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 6 |
| Assists | 10 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 12 |
| Chances created | 81 | 39 | 36 | 44 | 27 | 80 |
| Dribbles completed | 65 | 66 | 38 | 45 | 41 | 48 |
| Fouls won | 110 | 41 | 34 | 30 | 18 | 31 |
Interestingly, Manchester City were the team who performed the most carries into the penalty area last season with 68, more than second-placed Chelsea. When City players get into the box, they are expected to make things happen, effect the game and Grealish, Foden, Sterling, Silva and Mahrez are all in the top 10 for passes attempted and completed inside the opposition’s penalty area last season.
The ability to carry the ball at long distances, evade pressure, beat opponents at will as well as drawing so many fouls is a trait that appeals so much to Guardiola and the City faithful. Manchester City will be getting a player who will vastly improve their football next season. However, there is a caveat to Grealish’s game that Guardiola may look to alter.
As journalist Miguel Delaney so correctly points out, Grealish is allowed so much freedom and warranty at Villa, in that his game is expressed individually, being able to perform so many actions on his own which drives his team and gets them out of difficult situations. That won’t be the case at City, Guardiola calls on a more structured approach to his attacking play, its all about the collective rather than the individual, and that’s something Grealish will have to adapt to.
He may not be able to just get the ball and dribble all he likes – as he did at Villa – he’ll be asked to keep up the tempo in City’s passing, with breaking opposition lines and carving out opportunities in the penalty area. It will certainly be interesting to see how Guardiola may adapt to Grealish’s style or teaching the Villa talisman to adapt and adhere to his own.
Grealish will need to release the ball quicker than he does, and to be more attentive when working with the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling. A major part of City’s superb approach was their ability to slow the game down with their subtle, intricate and decisive passing only to then speed it up at particular moments, taking advantages of spaces when they open up.
Defenders will be drawn to Grealish like he was at Villa, which means him winning free-kicks across the park could frustrate City’s build-up, with opposition teams reverting quickly back into a defensive shape. What’s so devastating about Grealish is his huge decisiveness once dribbling with the ball, which means City will only benefit, but they’d benefit even greater if he works on his game releasing the ball much more efficiently and more sooner.
The question on everybody’s lips will certainly be where Jack Grealish could line-up next season. Sources close to Guardiola say that Grealish could be deployed as a creative no.8 alongside Kevin De Bruyne in their customary and fluid 4-3-3 shape. With Raheem Sterling regularly deployed on the left, Grealish’s regular spot will be occupied, but there’s always a chance for rotation and flexibility.
Grealish in more central areas, as we’ve seen before is of course a devastating sight to behold. As soon as he picks up the ball, its incredibly difficult to get him off it – unless fouling him. At City, he may well be given more space to roam, with opposition midfielders occupied with Kevin De Bruyne’s ability to dissect opposition defences at will. If this is the case, Guardiola will be capable of breaching the most combative of defences from not just one area in the half-space, but two.
Both Grealish and Kevin De Bruyne are both destructive in those areas which gives the opposition much more danger than they bargained for.
Of course, Grealish could also expected to be deployed on the left side of City’s attack, his most common position, although with Sterling and Foden already on that side (and given the left-footed Foden finished last campaign on that flank) it is a very competitive area of the pitch for City.
The prospect of a Grealish and Foden partnership will be mouthwatering for any Manchester City fan, and there’s certainly been flashes of the pair when the two are on duty for England. Their superb ability to combine through delicious first touch passes and swift interchanging of movement could really aid City in cutting through opponent’s steep defences.
They would have no problems switching roles temporarily too.
How about Grealish and Sterling together? Southgate has tried that partnership with ruthless aplomb before, if you need any evidence just ask the Czech Republic.
If City don’t get in Harry Kane this summer, and Guardiola opts for a false nine setup, then Grealish could be unleashed in midfield alongside Gundogan with Kevin De Bruyne coming off the front-line. Why not Grealish operating in those false-nine areas too?
The imperious quality at Guardiola’s disposal leaves a lot of room for rotation and flexibility certainly, which means Jack Grealish will be thrust into a much more competitive and much testing dynamic than at Aston Villa.
Some will argue that the grass isn’t always greener, but its a move and challenge that Grealish will relish and be excited by. It will be incredibly intriguing how Guardiola mixes and meshes his various attacking options, especially if they do manage to get in both Jack Grealish and Harry Kane this summer.
Jack Grealish’s move certainly raises as much questions as answers as to how City could line-up next season and how his game could complement the team’s and vice-versa. It’s an exciting headache for Pep Guardiola to have. However, what’s certain is that Jack Grealish will improve City considerably, and on a more personal measure, Grealish’s game may well be taken to a whole new level under Guardiola’s tutelage.
This is a call to Manchester City’s Premier League rivals (not just the red half of Manchester)… be very afraid.
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