Alan Shearer pinpoints how Jack Grealish has improved at Man City & is returning to Aston Villa form

Jack Grealish’s performances have improved in recent weeks, believes Alan Shearer. Credit: Getty.

Alan Shearer highlighted Jack Grealish’s decision making and assertiveness on the ball for Manchester City in recent weeks, as examples of how he’s beginning to improve at the club.

Grealish joined City in the summer for a record-breaking £100m and Shearer, who was also once England’s most expensive player, feels the pressure of that price tag weighed heavily on Grealish’s mind in the opening weeks of the season.

It was the attacker’s performances for Aston Villa in recent years that convinced Pep Guardiola and City to spend such a colossal fee to secure his services, but Grealish struggled to immediately adapt to life at the Etihad.

Jack Grealish put in his best performance so far for Manchester City in the recent derby win. Credit: Getty

However, in the last few weeks his performance levels have improved, with a sublime goal in an FA Cup win over Peterborough United and a superb individual display in the Manchester derby.

It’s for this reason Shearer feels Grealish has turned a corner at his new club. Asked what he’s made of the England international’s first season at City, Shearer responded: “Slow start; we certainly didn’t see the best of him.

Shearer believes Grealish is starting to deal with the pressure of playing for Manchester City. Credit: Getty.

“I think in the last four or five weeks we’re starting to see more of the Jack Grealish that we saw at Aston Villa,” the former striker added, during BBC Sport’s pre-match coverage of City’s 4-1 FA Cup win over Southampton on Sunday.

“I was pretty critical of him two or three months ago, I was at Brentford when Man City played, and all I saw him do was to play the safe pass, the easy pass, instead of doing this [taking on opponents] like we saw at Villa.

“The number of times he got the ball in his own half and went at players, no fear or lacking in confidence. I think the last four or five weeks he’s starting to forget they paid £100m for him.

“It’s taken time for him to feel like he belongs in that Man City squad with all the superstars and the manager there and the expectations there. There’s no doubt we’re seeing signs of what we saw in that Aston Villa shirt.”