Pundits agree on where ‘superb’ Manchester City star must improve

Manchester City star Jack Grealish has been challenged to improve in one key department during his second season at the Etihad.

The England winger will round off his first campaign with Pep Guardiola’s side when they look to wrap up the Premier League title against his former club Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon.

Grealish started the game on the bench - but the fixture has provided an intriguing opportunity to assess the impact Grealish has made since he moved to City in a reported £100million deal last summer.

The 26-year-old has scored six goals and created four assists in 39 appearances across all competitions as he looked to help his new club target success on four separate fronts.

Grealish was the topic of a heated discussion on Sky Sports ahead of the meeting with his former club - and two pundits believe the winger has to be more ruthless in front of goal if he is to improve on his first season with City.

Former Republic of Ireland striker Clinton Morrison said: “He would want want more assists and more goals to his game, definitely.

“It’s different though, he’s gone from Aston Villa, he’s the main man.

“He could go and get the ball off the centre-halves, dribble up the pitch, take them up the pitch.

“In this team, it’s totally different with Pep Guardiola. You’ve got other players that do that, so Jack has to stay out wide on the left and just cause the kind of problems he can do.

“I think we will see the best of Jack Grealish next season.

“I’m not saying he’s had a bad season because he hasn’t had a bad season. He’s probably not been given the opportunities he was given at Aston Villa week-in, week-out.

“For me, he’s a superb talent. A lot of people question the money spent. He doesn’t set that £100million, that’s between the two clubs.

“He’s just got to go out on the football pitch and deliver.”

That opinion met the approval of former Scotland star Kris Boyd, who insisted Grealish needs to follow the example set by his City and England team-mate Raheem Sterling.

“I think his goals need to improve, he gets himself into so many positions,” he said.

“You look at Raheem Sterling, he’s got 17 goals this season and you would say he has been in and out of the team this season.

“He comes in and he scores goals and that’s the level he needs to get into.”