Competes with Savinho
©IMAGO
At Manchester City, Savinho (20) recently replaced Jack Grealish (29) on the left wing. The Englishman has only been in the starting line-up six times after 20 match days and currently has to be content with the joker role. “I want the Jack who won the treble,” said City coach Pep Guardiola after the 4-1 win against West Ham (quoted via “Times”).
In the summer of 2021, Grealish came to Man City from Aston Villa for a fee of 117.5 million euros – more money has never been paid for an English footballer. In his second season with the Skyblues, he was involved in 16 goals in 50 games and was a regular in winning the treble. He played the full distance in the Champions League final against Inter Milan. But he hasn’t been able to build on the form from that season so far.
Across all competitions, Grealish was on the pitch for 946 minutes in 19 games this season and was able to assist two goals. He has been waiting for a goal for over a year. The 29-year-old was last successful in a 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace in December 2023. The losing streak is 37 goalless games. In December 2024, its market value fell by 10 million to 45 million euros – the fifth consecutive loss since the triumph in the premier class.
Guardiola still believes in Grealish, whose contract runs until 2027. “I fought a lot for him and a lot for Grealish to be here. And I know he can do it because I’ve seen it.” The full schedule in January with at least seven games could be an opportunity for him.
New signing Savinho shines: “Is in better shape than Jack”
Before the season, Man City paid Troyes €25 million for the services of Savinho, the only new signing alongside İlkay Gündoğan. The Brazilian is now getting better and better. At the end of the year he scored his first goal for the Citizens in the 2-0 win against Leicester City, in the 4-1 win he set up twice for Erling Haaland and was able to prepare Vladimír Coufal’s own goal for the opening goal. “Savinho is in better form than Jack and that’s why I chose him,” Guardiola explained. Grealish was only substituted on for Haaland in the 84th minute.
After a serious crisis in November and December, in which only one of 13 games was won, the Citizens are on the rise again. After two wins in a row against Leicester City and West Ham United, they are in sixth place with 34 points. The gap between the series champions and league leaders Liverpool, who have one game less, is twelve points.