‘It can help us’ - Jack Grealish position change could provide the answer to Man City’s problems

Pep Guardiola has said Manchester City could gain more control over games with Jack Grealish playing in a central position.

The 29-year-old has almost exclusively operated from the wing since his arrival in 2021 but was introduced in a midfield position during Sunday’s defeat against Liverpool. A lack of control and tempo in the middle has been a real issue for City during the ongoing winless run of seven games, and they’ve also struggled to cope with the physical demands of top-level games during that run.

There has also been a lack of creativity, caused partly due to the poor form of Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne’s injury issues, while Ilkay Gundogan has been forced to play in a more withdrawn role.

But Guardiola thinks Grealish could provide the solution. “Jack in the middle, I am thinking can help us to have that control, that vision to the final third,” the Catalan said in the aftermath of the 2-0 loss at Anfield.

It’s not the first time Guardiola has given this verdict on Grealish. “He can do it. Jack can play in that position a little more free,” the City boss said after Grealish played centrally in a 3-0 Champions League win over Young Boys in November 2023. “It’s amazing how he can help us, but he can play there.”

Grealish also played as an attacking midfielder for England in two of Lee Carsley’s interim games in charge, while he made a cameo appearance in the middle when he came off the bench for the latter stages of a 4-0 Champions League win over Slovan Bratislava in October.

But it was at Aston Villa where Grealish frequented that role most often. The club’s former skipper often operated in the middle during the 2019/20 season, a campaign where he managed eight league goals, more than he has ever produced for City.

Grealish’s habit of retaining possession, slowing down the play when required, buying free-kicks and creating space for others are all qualities which could help him thrive in a central position. Meanwhile, with Jeremy Doku, Savinho and Bernardo Silva, City aren’t short of options on the wings, but the injuries to Rodri, Mateo Kovacic and De Bruyne mean the Blues are struggling for midfielders.

It might not prove to be the silver bullet that Guardiola and City are searching for, but Grealish in midfield feels like an experiment that’s worth exploring while the team look so short of answers.