England legend Chris Waddle has suggested that one Manchester City player might not have been playing in the right position.
City have a lot of players who are capable of playing a variety of different positions.
Pep Guardiola loves versatility, and often gets players into different areas of the pitch depending on the opposition.
But there are also a few players in the City squad right now who tend to stick to one position and one position only. And one player who doesn’t really deviate is Jack Grealish.
Grealish pretty much always operates from the left – and Chris Waddle feels this may not actually be the right position for him.
Chris Waddle says Man City star Jack Grealish may prefer playing centrally
Grealish signed for City in the summer of 2021 for £100 million, which was a British transfer record at the time.
Ever since signing, Grealish has played out on the left for City, as he likes to cut inside on his strong right foot.
Grealish has sometimes come in for criticism for playing ‘too conservatively’ for City, often checking back and passing down the line or inside. He tends not to take his man on all that often, with Pep keen for his side to retain possession rather than risk losing it.
For Chris Waddle, Grealish may not be a left winger and feels the player may actually prefer to play in the middle where he can be more ‘free’. Speaking about his recent omission from the England squad, he said (via MEN): “I look at Jack and he cuts back at Manchester City, it’s back to Rodri, back to Rodri, back to Rodri.
“You just think yes he gives them balance, but he’s not positive enough in taking people on, and only rarely does he come inside and shoot.
“I’m not sure he’s a left-winger, and probably if you sat him down and said where would you like to play I’m sure he would say in the middle or a No.10, getting involved more on the ball, playing one-twos, affecting the game more from the middle.”
Following Grealish’s snub by Gareth Southgate, England legend Wayne Rooney has said that he personally would have taken the former Aston Villa man to Euro 2024.
Grealish centrally would be very interesting
Waddle raises an interesting question about Grealish.
City fans have only ever known him to play out on the left, and sometimes he can be predictable. He is not like Jeremy Doku, who can take on an opponent either side.
The £300,000-a-week ace is about ball retention and control, but one does wonder if Grealish playing a different position could get more out of him.
But the issue for him is that Phil Foden has shown how amazing he is in the middle. And Kevin De Bruyne obviously plays there too, with Julian Alvarez another option for Pep.
It is definitely surprising though that we have pretty much never seen him as a number 10 in sky blue.