“I’m not going to tell you” – Pep Guardiola offers honest take on Jack Grealish ahead of Man City return | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has offered his honest thoughts on Jack Grealish and what the England international can bring to the team on his return.

The England international is continuing his pursuit of full fitness having sustained a second groin injury in quick succession earlier this month during the club’s FA Cup fifth round victory over Luton Town at Kenilworth Road.

That setback followed a challenging start to 2024 following an equally as difficult first-half of the season as a whole, with his return to the starting line-up against Copenhagen in the Champions League resulting in a first of two groin problems.

However, as Manchester City enter their most challenging phase of the campaign, Grealish will almost certainly be required if the club are to succeed in defending any of their three crowns from the previous campaign.

When asked recently just how important Jack Grealish is going to be for City during the remaining months of the season, manager Pep Guardiola refused to reinforce what he believes people already know about the England international forward.

“I’m not going to tell you how important is Jack (Grealish). Of course he is a lot,” insisted Guardiola. “But he has to be ready, and saying, ‘We play better than we was without him’ would be unfair because there a lot of players that fought incredibly during the season to be where we are.”

But what exactly does Jack Grealish bring to the Manchester City team? Pep Guardiola was full of praise for his returning forward, as he explained during a recent press conference, “I think everybody knows about the quality from Jack. He’s not a new player in the Premier League, playing many years for Aston Villa and here.

“He’s an exceptional player for many, many things and has the ability to make a lot of extra passes, and when it’s at his feet not just extra passes – dribbling, and assists, and sometimes goals.”

The City boss continued, “And he has to be fit and ready because the quality to keep the ball, and extra passes and making the team tighter and closer between each other defensively and offensively is really, really, really good.”

Manchester City will return from the ongoing season with a mammoth Premier League battle against Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium, while April represents a run of contests that could have a huge bearing on the club’s title-chasing chances.

An FA Cup semi-final meeting with Chelsea follows a UEFA Champions League double-header against Real Madrid, while Premier League away trips to the likes of Brighton & Hove Albion and Crystal Palace are also involved in the run.