Jack Grealish has been criticised by Graeme Souness recently with the Scotsman claiming that the ex-Aston Villa star should’ve improved more since joining Manchester City.
The England international joined Pep Guardiola’s side in a £100m deal just over 12 months ago but the Liverpool legend believes the 27-year-old ‘is not a great player’.
The former Villans star registered six goals and four assists in appearances during his debut campaign for the Sky Blues last term and he netted his first goal of the new season against Wolves last weekend.
Despite not yet reaching the levels that many had expected from him since his big money move, the City star has admitted his bemusement as to why Souness sends so much criticism his way.
“I don’t know what his problem is with me,” he said (as quoted by the Irish Independent). “He always says stuff about me! But I try not to read a lot of it.
“It is difficult you know when he’s on talkSPORT, or Sky Sports, and it’s everywhere around the training ground at times.
“Listen, he was obviously a great player and won a lot but I know he has a lot of stuff to…I don’t know what it is with what he says about me or what problem he’s got. I know my own ability.
“I know before that he used to say a lot of stuff about me not moving the ball quicker, but when I’m playing for a manager like Pep Guardiola and he’s telling me to keep the ball as much as I can and have balls to take it everywhere, that’s what I’ll try and do.
“Obviously, I am always going to have people, if I’m not playing well (criticising). Listen, I know within myself, I always watch my games back and stuff like this and I am very critical of myself.
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“I know that there were games, especially in the second half of last season, where I wasn’t at my best at all.
“Unfortunately for me, I came back in pre-season, I came back fit where I’d had a strong pre-season and then got injured in the second game.
“But from now on, I’m just going to try and get my head down and try and get that fitness back because I know I’m not at 100pc yet. I think I’ve only played one 90 minutes this season.
“But, yeah, I think I’ll always have people on the back of me but I’ve just got to try and go and perform.”
During his last season at Villa Park, Grealish registered 18 goal contributions in 26 Premier League games and was out on his own as his boyhood club’s best player.
Many understood his decision to move to the Etihad in order to compete for silverware and to play in the Champions League, but it hasn’t quite gone to plan since he completed the transfer.
Despite admitting the negativity ‘does sometimes’ get to him, he insists that he’s ‘learnt to deal’ with criticism and believes it affects his family more than it affects him.
“It’s more if someone like my mum or my dad was saying it, I’d listen a lot more,” he added.
“But, yeah, sometimes when people are saying it – whether it be trolls on Twitter or Instagram or stuff like that – that doesn’t bother me at all.
“I think that’s just part and parcel of what we have playing for the national team and playing for big clubs in England.
“I don’t think I’m the only one, I think there’s quite a few. I think we just have to learn to deal with that.
“Obviously, over time, I’ve learned to deal with it.
“When I signed for Man City and the price and stuff that came with it, I knew it wasn’t going to all be laughs, unless I started the way Erling Haaland did. I think that’s the only way I wouldn’t get caned!
“Obviously, I’m not going to sit here and say ‘nothing ever affects me’ because it does sometimes. I’m a 27-year-old kid so I’ve had to learn to deal with that.”
There’s no doubting that on his day he is a quality player and a real game changer but he has somewhat struggled to adjust to life at a club challenging at the top.
Guardiola certainly hasn’t lost faith in the attacker and Grealish has also been selected by Gareth Southgate for England’s upcoming Nations League games with Italy and Germany.
It’ll be interesting to see whether the former Villa favourite reaches the levels that many witnessed from him in the East Midlands but we certainly don’t mind if he wants to continue underperforming!