Man City have £50million reasons to hope they were wrong about Jack Grealish

Jack Grealish has the chance to take centre stage at Everton and show what people have been saying about him for years

Pep Guardiola and Jack Grealish(Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

Not content with ruining football, Manchester City only went and ruined one of the most popular footballers out there. Jack Grealish was the sport's answer to the Harlem Globetrotters when he was at Aston Villa, people would have you believe, before he went to the Etihad and turned into a lifeless robot.

Pep Guardiola, a man who has broken points and goal records in the Premier League since taking over the job, simply doesn't know how to cope with wingers you see. They don't fit into his precise vision of how his meticulous football should be played so none of them can survive in his teams (yes, yes Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane and Riyad Mahrez etc etc but still).

If that introduction seems too flippant, it is because so much analysis of Grealish's time at City has been so lazy. The 29-year-old can point to bad luck with injuries for the reason why he hasn't done more with the Blues but he cannot blame Guardiola's use of him.

Back in 2021 when he moved to City as the first British player to cost £100m, there was a sense from Grealish that he wasn't certain that he belonged in such a squad of superstars. In games, he would look too often for Kevin De Bruyne because De Bruyne was the best player in the league, rather than thinking about the right thing for that situation.

He took some time to adapt to what Guardiola demanded, but it all came together for four glorious months in his second season. Grealish had actually gone off the boil when it came to City winning the Treble but without him and Riyad Mahrez between January and April the Blues would not have put themselves in a position to win any trophies that year.

That was the high point, but Grealish struggled to get over it. It was understandable, it was just that there was no time to stand still when there were more trophies up for grabs.

Last season saw moments of inspiration - the ball to set up City's first against Real Madrid was brilliant - but injuries too often put an end to promising starts and the fact that he wasn't used more reflected that he wasn't performing as well as others were in his position. It wasn't personal, but Grealish couldn't lift himself to the level that was needed.

An opportunity at Everton feels like the perfect platform for Grealish to rediscover his verve. It is an historic club with bold ambitions as they step into a bright new future at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, and if he finds his magic there will be an adoring fanbase to roar him back into England contention.

City would love for him to do that, not least because it might convince Everton to part with £50m at the end of the season and mean that they make a significant accounting profit on their £100m signing. It would mean having to accept some nonsense about how Grealish's game was stifled at the Etihad, but that would probably be a price worth paying.

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