Jack Grealish and the Road Ahead: Has the £100m Gamble Run Its Course? | OneFootball

From record signing to peripheral figure: What’s next for Grealish?

Just under three years ago, Jack Grealish was the crown jewel of English football. A £100 million arrival from Aston Villa, steeped in charm, draped in swagger, and primed to shine on the brightest stages under Pep Guardiola. Now, he’s not even making Manchester City’s match-day squad for decisive fixtures.

His omission from the squad to face Fulham — a must-win game in City’s pursuit of Champions League qualification — wasn’t a tactical tweak. It felt more like a verdict. Having started just once in the Premier League in 2025, and unused in the FA Cup final despite City chasing the game, Grealish’s marginalisation is no longer subtle. It’s emphatic.

Guardiola’s response? Non-committal. “We didn’t talk,” he said. Conversations are scheduled for summer, but the message was unmistakable: others will make the decision. Txiki Begiristain and Hugo Viana — City’s director of football duo, present and future — will have the final say on whether the Treble-winner remains part of the project.

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Where can Grealish go? The options — and the obstacles

Grealish turns 30 in September and reportedly earns up to £380,000 a week. That alone complicates any Premier League switch. Clubs here are chasing potential, not prestige. Newcastle, Spurs, or West Ham might kick the tyres, but would they stretch their wage structure? Unlikely.

Serie A offers a softer landing. Italy has become a haven for English players needing a reset — think Chris Smalling or Fikayo Tomori. Even Scott McTominay has reinvented himself at Napoli. Grealish, with his tempo, technique and flair, would suit the league’s slower rhythms. But wages remain a hurdle.

The Bundesliga could suit his style, especially given the space afforded to creators. Yet Bayern Munich are the only side likely to afford him, and even that seems a stretch given their recent emphasis on youth and structure.

MLS? Marketability-wise, it’s a match made in Hollywood. He’d thrive off the pitch, but it would feel like an early surrender. And for a man who forced his way back into Gareth Southgate’s England squad earlier this season, walking away from the international stage just yet feels premature.

Saudi Arabia, of course, could pay him handsomely. But a move there would hammer the final nail in his England career — a cost that, even for Grealish, might feel too high.

From the Treble to the Trouble

This is no ordinary player in decline. Grealish was pivotal in City’s Treble-winning campaign, providing balance, discipline, and driving runs. He wasn’t flashy, but he was effective. His humility in adapting his game to Guardiola’s demands should’ve bought him time. Instead, the emergence of younger, faster, hungrier talents — like 19-year-old Claudio Echeverri — have left him stranded.

Alan Shearer’s take was blunt but fair: “He should leave.” And unless those summer talks deliver a drastic change in role and responsibility, Grealish might have little choice.

As the footballing carousel spins again this summer, Grealish won’t be short of suitors. But he will be short of options that match his ambition, his salary, and his sense of unfinished business.

Whatever happens next, it’s a crossroads moment — for player, club, and legacy.