Gareth Southgate has thrown his support behind Jack Grealish but admits he doesn't always know what Manchester City ask of him in the Premier League.
Grealish's role at City has come under scrutiny again this week - mainly because of Graeme Souness - and while the Blues are happy with his progress and his position in the team, outsiders appear to be wanting more from him in terms of goals and assists. Grealish came off the bench for England in their defeat to Italy on Friday, injecting some much-needed energy as he is given a freer role for the Three Lions than under Pep Guardiola at City.
And England boss Southgate insists he is pleased with Grealish's place in the England squad, saying his coaching staff have no complaints with Grealish on international duty.
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Joining the debate, Southgate also joked that Grealish should pay little attention to critics like Souness, as he discussed the forward's season so far.
"He’s had a difficult start to the season with a couple of injuries. It was good to see him arriving at the far post at the weekend and get in the box and scoring.
"We know he’s got great creativity. Jack has contributed well for us, we are happy how he is. We love working with him, he’s a great kid to have around the camp. He’s working at a top club where it’s not easy to get in the team, never mind perform well. I don’t know if he will ever find the level Graeme [Souness] wants!"
However, Southgate also admitted that he sometimes doesn't know what City are asking Grealish to do tactically, explaining that he often has to 'dig deeper' to work out his role at club level.
Southgate continued: "We are happy with the contributions for us, but I can’t really talk about club because you are not always 100 per cent certain on what individuals’ roles is and what the requirements are and what they are being asked to do with the ball.
"It’s of course easy to have an opinion from the outside, which I do with the players. I have to dig a bit deeper with the specifics they are being asked to do."
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