Having just won the treble, people might be tempted to think that Jack Grealish’s drive for trophies has diminished ahead of the new season. The reality, however, is that the Solihull-raised midfielder will be driven to even greater heights this season by a manager who has an insatiable appetite for silverware. Essentially, with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City’s helm, there will be no let-up for Grealish or his teammates.
The expert view is that City are far from finished
If you needed further proof of City’s desire to rule England and Europe once more then you will find it if you’re betting on today’s football matches. To start with, the Cityzens are priced at just 1/4 to win their opening Premier League game against Burnley while Guardiola’s team are at outright favourite odds of 2/1 to win the 2023/2024 Champions League. In short, the latest betting markets haven’t seen anything in pre-season that would suggest City are going to take their foot off the accelerator during the upcoming campaign.
So, what does this mean for Grealish and how much could he achieve under another year of Guardiola’s guidance?
Grealish’s journey to historic treble winner
For all of Grealish’s outstanding qualities as a player in 2023, the truth is that before the attacking midfielder arrived at the Etihad Stadium in 2021, he was far from the finished article. Much like teammate Kalvin Phillips is experiencing now at the club, Grealish’s first season working alongside Guardiola had more personal downs than ups owing to the difficulty in getting to grips with the Spaniard’s unique philosophy which requires lung-busting efforts as well as having unwavering faith in the process.
2️⃣ years ago today, we signed 𝗦𝗨𝗣𝗘𝗥 @JackGrealish! 🫶 pic.twitter.com/PHqqOXHVbt
— Manchester City (@ManCity) August 5, 2023
Adapting was far from easy but to his immense credit, Grealish displayed that famous Solihull work ethic during challenging times when his place at City was being questioned by most of the media. The result of blocking out the noise and putting the hard yards in was that when the 2022/2023 season began, the former Aston Villa captain was ready to play an integral part in City’s treble success.
With questions about Grealish’s overall contribution at City emphatically answered, it is likely that the 27-year-old will now benefit from an even greater sense of personal freedom when it comes to expressing himself on the pitch.
With this in mind and alongside team trophies, Grealish is likely to be targeting individual accolades at the club and beyond as he continues to leave his mark at City. Of course, it will require a herculean effort to take the Player of the Year award from the likes of Kevin De Bruyne but Grealish has the talent to be crowned the best player of what might be the greatest team ever seen in English football.
💙💙💙 pic.twitter.com/Lby8daIzqC
— Jack Grealish (@JackGrealish) May 22, 2023
Should he achieve a feat of this magnitude then the man from Solihull will surely throw his name into the hat as far as the Ballon d’Or award goes.
With City as Europe’s best, Grealish can realise his dreams
To that end, the omens are good for another English winner of the Ballon d’Or given that there were 22 years in between Kevin Keegan winning the award in 1979 before Michael Owen won it again in 2001. This timeline suggests that an English player might soon scoop the most prestigious individual award in world football and with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi no longer in the running, Grealish forms part of the new generation of players ready to stake their claim.
If City continue to hoover up every trophy on offer in England and Europe while Grealish is the talisman for the side, then the next few years will bring unprecedented personal success for this generational talent from Solihull.
