Jack Grealish will make a comeback when his play betters, says Pep Guardiola

When Jack Grealish’s performances on the pitch are better, Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola says he’ll be back to being a regular in the starting eleven.

Throughout City’s championship season (which included winning the FA Cup and Champions League), the 28-year-old England midfielder started 41 games, including the championship series. This season, however, he has only made 19 starts, seven of which have been Premier League games. 

Grealish’s top-flight playing time has been scarce this season; of his 19 starts, four came in the Community Shield, the European Super Cup, and the two matches in the Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia. His final league start came against Sheffield United on December 30. After 52 minutes, rookie Oscar Bobb took his place. 

The expectations that Guardiola, the former coach of Barcelona and Bayern Munich, lays on his players mean that Grealish is not the first player to come and go from his team. The England international has also been warned that he won’t have much time to adjust back into the City team. 

There is no guarantee that Grealish, valued at £100 million, will start the FA Cup fifth-round match against Luton after sitting out the victory over Bournemouth on Saturday.

 Guardiola declared, “We need him. He brings a unique quality to our team. But it’s up to him. I hope the next three months go well for him.” 

“Players can’t get their rhythm in three or four games,” Guardiola continued. “They must establish a rhythm so they can perform for 90 or 20 minutes. It is impossible to make someone fit with three or four games. How about the ten who don’t participate? Do they deserve to be benched? You need to observe the training sessions and every little thing. I don’t need the players to persuade me. To be allowed to play, they must persuade themselves of this.”