Jack Grealish has admitted that he needs to be adding more goals and assists to his game as he attempts to follow Cristiano Ronaldo’s career path.
Grealish got on the score sheet for the first time this season by netting the opener in Manchester City ’s 3-0 win over Wolves in the Premier League on Saturday. The former Aston Villa winger got into the box to convert Kevin De Bruyne’s pinpoint low cross just 55 seconds into the match.
Erling Haaland found the bottom corner from the edge of the box before Nathan Collins was shown a straight red card for a high boot in a challenge with Grealish. Phil Foden tucked in another De Bruyne cross to complete the victory and send City top of the Premier League ahead of Arsenal ’s trip to Brentford on Sunday.
Grealish joined Man City in a £100million transfer from Villa last summer and has contributed just seven goals and four assists in 45 matches across all competitions so far. Speaking to BT Sport after the match at Molineux, he explained his long-term goals at City.
"It was a long time coming," he told BT Sport. "I haven’t scored since West Ham at the back end of last season. It was nice to get off the mark for this season and to do so early, get the three points against a top team. I think they are so underrated this Wolves team and they showed it at points in the second half. It’s a great result for us.
"I should be scoring and getting more assists. The only thing I can do is score and get assists. I’m always going to have people talking about me with the amount I got bought for.
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"If you look at my whole career, I probably haven’t scored as much as certain people, even when I was at Aston Villa I only scored 14/15 goals over the two seasons in the Premier League. It’s something I do want to add to my game and playing with this team and in front of these fans, hopefully, I can."
If Grealish can fulfil his ambitions then he would follow in the footsteps of Ronaldo, who tore up the Premier League during his first spell at Manchester United, from 2003 to 2009. Back in 2020, Grealish spoke about his admiration for Ronaldo, who scored 118 goals in 292 appearances for United before joining Real Madrid for £80m in 2009.
"I know he's (Ronaldo) gone on to be a forward, or even a striker, but when he was in the Premier League he was a left midfielder and now it's obviously a toss up between him and Messi for who is the best player in the world,” Grealish told BT Sport. "His actual record for scoring goals in the Premier League was frightening for a midfielder."
Grealish registered 32 goals and 43 assists in 213 games for Villa, but is yet to hit such heights at City. His start to this season was hindered by a minor injury, but he has now made six appearances in all competitions.
He will now meet up with the England squad for their upcoming friendlies against Italy and Germany before returning to City, who face Manchester United in the derby on October 2.
