Former Aston Villa forward Tony Cascarino has warned Jack Grealish could potentially be set for a return to the club should he not improve his Manchester City showings.
The winger became the most expensive player in the history of the English game last summer as he sealed a £100m switch to the Etihad Stadium. Despite enjoying a bright start to life with the Sky Blues and securing the Premier League title, he scored just six goals and notched four assists in all competitions throughout the campaign.
That was a huge drop-off in productivity for the 26-year-old having racked up 19 goal involvements in an injury-affected final season at Villa Park.
Cascarino has warned that should he fail to improve then City could be forced to cast Grealish aside. Speaking with talkSPORT, he said: “At the end of the season, if he doesn’t pick up his standards, what we know he’s capable of and why they paid £100m for him, he’ll probably be loaned out or he might end up back at Villa.
“He’s not playing well enough consistently for Man City. I’m not talking about being OK, six out of tens. He should be eight or nine. He’s got so much quality.”
Whilst Grealish has so far failed to convince at the Etihad Stadium, Cascarino has claimed that it’s understandable to see why considering the expectations placed upon him ahead of his move but has told the winger that the only way that his performances will improve is with the right attitude.
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He continued: “We’ll try and give Jack the benefit of the doubt... We're thinking maybe he should have gone to City and maybe adapted a bit quicker but sometimes it can be difficult.
“We've seen him being left out of big games for City and Gareth [Southgate] has done the same with England. The penny has to drop with Jack, if you want to be a real top player you’ve got to step up to the plate a bit more and the manager’s got to have a bit of trust with him.”
Usefully, Grealish actually has a better chance of contributing next season with City having signed off a few major exits. Gabriel Jesus at first sealed a £45m move to Premier League rivals Arsenal, whilst Raheem Sterling also moved to London with a switch to Chelsea.
City have continued to strengthen their attack as they prepare to defend their Premier League crown. Erling Haaland arrived from Borussia Dortmund and despite an indifferent start during the Community Shield is expected to be a success.
Meanwhile, young Argentine striker Julian Alvarez netted on his first appearance for the club following a summer switch from Boca Juniors and will hope for more opportunities throughout the season.
