A former England international has tipped Jack Grealish to complete a shock transfer as it could help him return to Thomas Tuchel’s plans ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
Grealish, 29, has seemingly fallen out of favour with Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola and was left out of the 2025 Club World Cup squad.
This came at the end of a poor season for the former Aston Villa man, who produced just three goals and five assists in 33 appearances during the 2024/25 campaign as City went trophyless.
At times, the 29-year-old’s behaviour off the field has been called into question, but Guardiola insisted this was not the reason for his Club World Cup omission.
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"The only reason he [Grealish] didn't play minutes was me, not because he was incorrect or whatever," Guardiola explained.
"He's a top player, but the players have to compete with each other, and last season Doku was incredible in many games and Savinho made the step up for his first season."
Several clubs, including Newcastle United, Napoli and Aston Villa, have all been linked with potential moves for the England international, but as things stand, no such deal has materialised.
But former England international Stuart Pearce has advised Grealish to consider “going abroad" in a bid to potentially return to the national team.
“I wouldn't say Jack Grealish could go abroad and become a megastar, but I certainly think going abroad wouldn't be a bad thing for him,” Pearce told GOAL.
“Every time I see an English player going abroad, I think it's good for the national team personally, as well as for the players' experience and everything.
“A lot of players that we've seen going abroad in recent times, Jadon Sancho and Jude Bellingham, they've flourished.
“It’s good to show that we've got players that are prepared to go into Europe and get life experience abroad. I think Jack Grealish would benefit from that. “The one thing he's got to do, footballing-wise, is he's got to deliver more goals and more assists from the position he plays in.
“When I look at England at the moment, we've got a centre forward in Harry Kane, and mobility is probably not his forte.
“So you need players on either flank being very mobile to go beyond him. That's not Jack's game either. So that holds him back a little bit at international level.
“But at the moment, he can't get in the international squad because his former club level isn't good enough. We need someone like Jack Grealish to be playing well enough at club level to be in the international fold on a regular basis.”
Grealish, who is contracted to Manchester City until June 2027, last played for England in the UEFA Nations League against Finland in October 2024.
Topics: Jack Grealish, Manchester City, Premier League, Pep Guardiola, Football, Transfer News
Luke Davies