Analysis: How Jack Grealish could fit in the squad
As this is my first post, I want to start off with introducing myself and what I want to achieve with my posts. I am aiming to try to make sense of everything that we see on the pitch and hear off of the pitch in regards to everything City-related. I want to hopefully show my readers a different perspective and analysis into tactics, transfers, or really any observations. I hope everyone enjoys what I have to say, and I thank you all for reading.
With all of that said, I want to start out with my first post. There are so many transfer rumors out there in terms of who City may sign, or who may leave. My intention in this post is not to try to speculate on whether I think a player will go or whether a player will stay, but just to simply look at a couple of players that have been linked heavily to City and dive into how they would fit in the squad, so here we go, starting with Jack Grealish.
We have all heard the links out there. The current situation, as seen by a number of reports, is that Manchester City want Jack Grealish and Jack Grealish wants Manchester City. However, City won’t look to sign Grealish unless someone leaves. Nevertheless, I think if City signed Grealish, he would be the most interesting player for Pep Guardiola to deploy tactically of the rumored incoming signings.
When you watch Grealish, it’s easy to see why he is so admired by Pep. He possesses many skills that current and former City players possess which make them so effective. Positionally, Grealish plays in a similar position to Bernardo, but on the left rather than the right. For example, Bernardo plays in two main areas: right wing and the right sided central midfielder. Bernardo isn’t a natural winger like Sterling or Mahrez, but he can play out there. However, his natural position and most effective is one that is inside right in a 3-man midfield for City’s 4–3–3 formation. I think Grealish is that exact same way, but on the left. Aston Villa plays a different formation than City much of the time, running a 4–2–3–1 much of the time, but Grealish takes up two main positions. He plays either on the left wing of that attacking 3 behind Ollie Watkins, or more centrally in that attacking three. However, even when he plays centrally, he seems to end up on the left side for much of the game. He is comfortable on the left wing, and does a great job there, but he is much more effective when playing in the inside left position, receiving the ball, and running at defenders through the lines. Bernardo takes up many of those position on the right side. It is also not uncommon to see Bernardo receive the ball on the touchline as a midfielder and see Mahrez/Torres/Sterling/Foden take up a different space inside. I think we could expect to see that type of interchanging on the left as well with Grealish and whoever Pep deploys on the left wing.
Above is Grealish’s shot map from the 2020/21 season, which shows the positions in which he attacks from. His heat map also looks very similar in the spaces that he takes up, in the high inside left position.
If Grealish came to City, he would play both on the left wing and as a left-sided central midfielder, but he would eventually settle in the midfield. His role may not be too different from someone that we know all too well, David Silva. Playing under Pep, Silva played high on the inside left in that pocket of space, and he dictated play from there. I think Pep would use Grealish in the same way. Grealish also seems to have the “pausa” ability that Pep adores so much, in that he is very good at dictating play at many different speeds, knowing when to speed up play and slow it down, and play precise passes. Obviously Jack Grealish is not the legend that David Silva is, but I think that he could take up that role well and settle into the left side of City’s attack.
What’s even more interesting about Jack Grealish fitting into this City squad is specifically his interaction with Phil Foden. Phil has played as a left winger for much of the season, and is very good at moving inside or staying wide. Tactically, the potential link-up between Foden and Grealish would be fascinating. Both can play wide, and both can play on the left side of a midfield three. What does this mean exactly? It means that Pep could get his wish on the left side of his attack: positionless football. The link-up between Grealish and Foden would cause headaches for defenders simply on their tactical awareness and the positions that they take up. Foden and Grealish could switch off seamless throughout the game to the point where we don’t really know who is playing in the midfield and who is playing on the wing. Not to mention, the addition of Zinchenko or Cancelo coming from the left back position, both of them can also get high and take up central or wide positions. The interchange of play between the left back, Grealish and Foden would be absolutely fascinating, and it’s no surprise why the thought of that combination would be a dream for Pep.
Both Foden and Grealish complement each other as well, as they have different qualities. Foden is very direct and dynamic, while Grealish is more calculated in dictating tempo. The combination and mix of their qualities on the left side of Manchester City’s attack next year can be absolutely deadly. If City sign Grealish, It will be absolutely fascinating to see how he is used by Pep. The possibilities are endless, and it should get us all excited.
