Pep must axe Grealish by unleashing Man City's "explosive" star
da cassino： Will Manchester City qualify for next season’s Champions League?
da realsbet： Last Sunday, the Sky Blues reached a third successive FA Cup final, courtesy of a 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest at Wembley, in which Rico Lewis and then Joško Gvardiol were the scorers.
Back in the Premier League, Pep Guardiola’s team have enjoyed three successive victories, now seeking to win four in a row for the first time since the first four matches of this season.
Victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Friday night would propel the Sky Blues up to third, but this won’t be easy, considering Wolves travel to the Etihad following six successive victories, achieving this in the top division for the first time since 1970.
If Guardiola is going to end Wolves’ winning streak, he should make a change to his forward line with Jack Grealish likely to come out of the side.
Jack Grealish's Manchester City decline
When Grealish arrived at Manchester City for £100m, at the time breaking the British transfer record, few would’ve forecast that, four years later, he’d merely be a peripheral figure.
The 29-year-old has started just 16 matches across all competitions this season, going a whopping 392 days without a club goal, starting only once in the Premier League since Christmas, hence why his name was a surprise inclusion against Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
The table below illustrates the England international’s decline.
Jack Grealish season-by-season Man City career
Statistics
2021/22
2022/23
2023/24
2024/25
Appearances
39
50
36
31
Starts
31
41
26
16
Minutes
2,730
3,487
2,114
1,520
Matches unused
19
11
18
20
Goals
6
5
3
3
Minutes per goal
455
697
705
507
Assists
4
11
3
5
All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt
As the table outlines, since Grealish’s best season, the treble-winning campaign of 2022/23, he’s been little more than a bit part player, no longer a regular starter and not a regular contributor when it comes to goals and assists.
Jeremy Cross and Oli Gamp of the Daily Mirror believe it is very likely that Grealish will depart this summer, making it pointless Guardiola picking him for Man City’s four remaining league fixtures, so here’s who he should unleash against Wolves instead.
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The Man City forward yet to fulfil his potential
Jérémy Doku joined Manchester City two summers ago from Stade Rennais, costing a reported £55.5m, with Director of Football Txiki Begiristain describing him as a “very exciting young player” who has the potential to “develop into a world-class attacking talent”.
Meantime, Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout labeled him an “explosive winger” with “superb dribbling skills” who “plays with a natural flair”.
Well, so far, we’ve only seen this in glimpses, with the Belgian scoring only six goals both this season and last, the most recent of which came during the 6-0 demolition of Ipswich all the way back in January.
Nevertheless, Doku does rank more favourably when it comes to other metrics, as outlined by the table below.
Jérémy Doku Premier League statistics 2024/25
Statistics
Doku
PL rank
Minutes played
1,307
247th
Goals
3
99th
Assists
5
41st
Progressive carries
176
1st
Attempted take-ons
175
2nd
Successful take-ons
98
1st
Take on success % (min 50 attempted)
56%
4th
Carries into the final third
83
4th
Carries into the penalty area
80
2nd
All statistics courtesy of FBref.com
As the table highlights, despite his relative lack of minutes, Doku has accumulated the most progressive carries and successful take-ons of any player in the Premier League.
Meantime, only Mohammed Kudus of West Ham has attempted more take-ons, while only Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah has registered more carries into the opposition penalty area.
Still only 22-years-old, Doku has the potential to be the future of this team, while the same cannot be said of Grealish.
Thus, given that Vítor Pereira is likely to set Wolves up in a low defensive block on Friday night, their back three quickly retreating and becoming a back five, Doku’s one-vs-one dribbling ability could be invaluable as Man City seek to break them down.
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