“He’s had setbacks” – Pep Guardiola makes Jack Grealish fitness admission as Manchester City mull over forward’s future | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola needs Jack Grealish to be match-fit and ready to play on a consistent basis to again become a regular starter for Manchester City.

Time is running out for Jack Grealish to prove his worth to Pep Guardiola after the £100 million club record signing has struggled to retain form and fitness in the last 18 months in particular.

Grealish was widely hailed as one of Manchester City’s most important players during the club’s historic 2022/23 season that saw the former Aston Villa captain win his second Premier League title alongside maiden Champions League and FA Cup titles.

However, as he approaches the business end of his fourth year in a City shirt, Grealish is yet to kick on from his treble heights and has struggled for regular game time for a large part of the season, having clocked only 605 minutes in 16 Premier League outings this term.

After recovering from his latest fitness issue sustained against Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League in February, Jack Grealish is back to full fitness and played 90 minutes in City’s FA Cup fifth round win over Plymouth Argyle a week ago.

Pep Guardiola was asked whether Grealish is ready to start a Premier League game ahead of Saturday’s tricky test away at Nottingham Forest, who are firmly in the race to finish in the top four.

“Yeah, he’s fit, which hasn’t happened in weeks. Yeah, we have seven days since the last game. Everybody is fit,” the 54-year-old said in a press conference on Friday.

Grealish started in City’s 3-0 win over Forest in the Etihad Stadium in December, but Guardiola wants more from his most expensive signing and above all, consistency in form and fitness. “It was a long time ago,” the City boss added.

“Of course I want the best Jack, but he’s had setbacks. Sometimes he didn’t play, but sometimes that’s for the injuries. You cannot get the rhythm that you need to be every three days ready.”

Earlier this week, images surfaced from Jack Grealish exiting a pub in Newcastle on sanctioned days off for the entire first-team squad, with reports since stating the Manchester City forward bought drinks worth £500 for locals.

“They (the players) know what they have to do. No training, they’re in their private life, they will do whatever they want. I’m not going to control what they do in their private life,” Guardiola continued on Grealish.

“I judge, we have to see with the pitch, the training sessions and the performance in the game. That’s what I judge the players on.”