Jack Grealish may need to leave Manchester City to get himself back on track – he’s in danger of ruining his legacy.
That’s the view of ex-Watford skipper Troy Deeney, who believes the 29-year-old needs to be at a club where he’s the main man and feels the love again.
Grealish has struggled for form in 2024, with Phil Foden and Jeremy Doku often preferred ahead of him at left wing by Pep Guardiola.
His lack of game time saw him left out of Gareth Southgate’s England Euro 2024 squad.
And he is yet to find his rhythm so far this season – starting just five Premier League matches.
With 2024 coming to a close, Grealish is incredibly without a goal in all competitions for City this calendar year.
He has only chipped in with one top-flight assist from his 11 league outings this term ahead of Sunday’s clash with rivals Manchester United.
Ahead of the Manchester derby, Deeney spoke to talkSPORT.com about Grealish, where he claimed the former Aston Villa star must start thinking about his future.
Deeney recently commented on how Marcus Rashford has so far failed to live up to his potential, despite his obvious talent.
Asked whether that could be the same case with Grealish, the 36-year-old said: “Ooh that’s interesting, I’ve never actually ever thought about it.
“I think he is danger of having his legacy ruined.
“And what I mean by that is, I don’t think you can say he hasn’t lived up to his potential, because look at what he did at Villa and he did it for a sustained period of time.
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“What’s happening now is, in football, it’s, ‘What have you done lately?,’ and he hasn’t done a great deal lately due to injuries and being out of the team.”
Deeney was then pressed as to whether Grealish may have to leave the Etihad to rediscover his form, with an emotional return to Villa one potential option.
To which the former Birmingham man remarked: “I don’t wan’t him to go back to Villa for two reasons, selfishly, because I don’t want Villa to get good again, [saying this] with a Blues head on.
“But genuinely for him, I always think if you go back, there’s an expectation you’re going to be that person you was when you left.
“I think a fresh start would be great for him and somewhere where he’s the main man again and everyone is giving him the ball.
“Because people like Jack, they need to have the ball every couple of minutes – and not being stood on the side – and when they get it, run a little bit and pass it back.
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“But I think you’re going to see a new role for him at City, I think you’re going to see him as a No.8 – just driving out of midfield.
“I think he can handle that position really well, and that’ll be good for England as well.”
Commenting on who he could potentially join if he decided to depart City, Deeney stated: “Spurs, he walks into that team in every position.
“Whether that’s as a winger, No.10 or No.8. Arsenal, no, I don’t think he works at Arsenal. Liverpool, he doesn’t at Liverpool.
“He’s obviously not going to go Manchester United, but he’s better than what they’ve got.
“Newcastle, easy. There’s loads of teams, anyone outside the top four, I’d argue he’d do well at Chelsea, but they’ve got about 75 wingers.
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“He’s probably too cheap for them at £100m to be fair, they’d want to waste a bit more money!
“Anyone outside the top four, he would easily go into and dominate, if he went to Newcastle, it would be considered a massive step down for him.
“But it’s a great club with a great fanbase and I think Jack needs to feel that again, feel that he’s loved, feel that the fanbase love him, but also he’s the man to drive them forward.”
With Grealish tied down at the Etihad until 2027, it remains to be seen whether he will part ways with City before then.
However with the 2026 World Cup a little over 18 months away, Grealish will know his place at the global tournament is already at risk.