Manchester City’s pre-season offers Jack Grealish & Kalvin Phillips a golden opportunity

When Manchester City begin their pre-season campaign against Celtic in the early hours of Wednesday morning, it will represent a fresh opportunity for several members of Pep Guardiola’s squad.

Few managers in the Premier League place as little importance on building fitness ahead of season than Pep Guardiola does. It helps when you have the country’s best squad who don’t always need to be fully up to speed, and the Catalan knows that over the course of a long season there will be plenty of games to continue improving fitness levels.

This approach has been proven again this summer by Guardiola giving those involved in Euro 2024 and the Copa America additional time off, with a ragtag squad travelling to the USA for friendlies against Celtic, AC Milan, Barcelona and Chelsea.

Of the 27 that have flown, only Erling Haaland and Ederson could really consider themselves guaranteed starters (when fit) at the end of last season. For the majority of the squad, which is made up of youngsters, this summer represents a chance to impress Guardiola and showcase their burgeoning talents. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see a few youth-team stars among the substitutes when City take on Manchester United in the Community Shield next month.

But for a select few, this pre-season offers a unique opportunity to stake a claim for a starting berth in the opening weeks of the campaign, given the majority of the first-team squad are unavailable.

Of the established first-team members, it’s Jack Grealish who is most in need of a career renaissance. Spurned by England, dropped by Guardiola at the end of last season, the former Aston Villa winger’s reputation has dipped markedly since playing a pivotal role in City’s treble-winning run.

Returning to those levels feels like an arduous proposition, but getting minutes into his legs over the coming four games will be an excellent start. Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva and Jeremy Doku were his main competitors in the wide areas last season, and with none of the trio set to be involved in America, along with Savinho, Grealish has a distinct advantage in the build-up to August’s competitive fixtures. 

At the very least, he should begin the new term fitter than Guardiola’s other wingers, and from there Grealish will hope his performances can justify an extended run in the team. If this was a 100m sprint, Grealish has been given a 10m head start.

He may even be able to take on some instructions and feedback from Guardiola, a luxury rarely afforded to City players in the midst of a fixture-laden campaign.

Oscar Bobb is in a similar position, albeit he is still finding his feet at first-team level. The arrival of Savinho may have caused the Norwegian to ponder what the future holds for him and how the £33.6m signing of a left-footed winger will impact his playing time. But, like Grealish, a good pre-season should give Bobb an opportunity to underline his credentials.

Rico Lewis will hope for the same with Kyle Walker not expected back until the start of August, at the earliest, while James McAtee and Maximo Perrone will be given the chance to showcase their development after season-long loans last term.

And could there even be one final shot for Kalvin Phillips to prove his worth, two years on from his £42m arrival from Leeds United? Guardiola is in desperate need of cover for Rodri and rather than scouring the market for a new arrival, the solution may be under his nose, if the City boss can address the evident inadequacies he’s seen in Phillips’ game.

The answers will become apparent over the coming weeks, but for the fringe members of this elite squad, the four US friendlies offer a distinct opportunity to advance their standings in the eyes of Guardiola, beginning against Celtic in early hours of Wednesday morning.