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Jack Grealish admits he has not performed consistently enough at Manchester City as he vows to find the form that has made him a £100million player… with the club’s record tally hoping to gain his confidence manager in him to repay
- Jack Grealish has faced criticism this season for failing to score or assist
- The midfielder believes playing in his best position will help rediscover his form
- Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola backed his record signing this week
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Jack Grealish has vowed to find the form with which he moved to Manchester City and to prove why the club paid a record £100million fee to bring him to the Etihad.
Pep Guardiola had to defend his midfielder for a week after a second disappointing Champions League show against Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday night.
Talking to the official Man City SiteGrealish admitted he needs to start performing for his club and take advantage of the minutes he gets in the City line-up.
Jack Grealish believes he can find the mold that made Man City spend £100m on him
“The attackers are the ones that the manager rotates a lot,” he said.
“Not everyone is going to play every game because we have so much talent.
“When you get that chance, grab it with both hands and I’m going to try that.
“Last year I was settling down – but I want to start performing the way I moved here. I did that once last season, maybe not consistently enough.’
The 27-year-old’s first season at City did end in a Premier League winners’ medal, but it lacked the sparkling form we saw from Grealish at Aston Villa.
The England man kicked off this campaign with renewed vigor during City’s pre-season tour. Grealish explains how his season has suffered since then: “I got off to a pretty good start in pre-season, starting the first game of the season we won at West Ham.
Grealish has only scored six goals in a City shirt and struggled to live up to its price tag
“Then I got injured in the second. I came back and played a few Champions League games.
“I felt like I could have done better in both, but I’m still trying to catch up on my fitness. Now I’m just trying to get fit and get my form back.’
The key to finding that shape could be Grealish’s role in the City attack. He has played in a number of positions for Pep Guardiola, but believes he is at his best when deployed on the left, such as at Villa Park.
Pep Guardiola supported his Manchester City star, saying: ‘It’s not just about the numbers’
“What brought me the movement here was playing on the left wing.” he said.
“Last season there were times when I played like a false nine, sometimes I played like a number eight where Bernardo, Gundo[gan] and Kev [De Bruyne] play.
“I also like that position and I played there for Villa in the past. I think when you play in that position at City you see a lot of the ball so I’d say the left one or a number eight [is his preferred position].
‘The attacking players like me, Erling [Haaland]Filip [Foden]Julian [Alvarez] and Riyadh [Mahrez],,I think we can all play in different positions.’
Grealish has only scored six times for City since moving to Manchester last summer, and provided just four assists for the Premier League champions.
Grealish were eliminated after another slow showing in City’s midweek Champions League victory
However, his boss is not concerned with the numbers and is happy with the contribution of the signing of the club record.
“I want him to score goals and I want him to give assists, he does. But that’s not the point,” Guardiola said this week.
“It’s about his contribution without the ball and what he can produce for the others and the many, many things he can do.
“He also competes with top, top players and he knows that perfectly.
“But he never complains about that. He’s such a nice guy and in the games when he’s not playing, he’s the first one to help the team.”