Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has admitted that Jack Grealish needs to improve his game if he wants to regain his place in the team’s starting XI.
Grealish, a £100m signing in 2021, failed to score a single club goal in 2024 and recently lost his place in the City squad to summer signing Savinho, who stole the show as Guardiola’s side beat West Ham United 4th at the weekend :1 defeated .
When Guardiola was asked why Savinho was playing ahead of Grealish, he was not discouraged and issued a stern warning to the Englishman.
“It’s simple,” Guardiola said. “As much as he looks at himself, he will see the competition and that he has to measure himself. Savinho is in better shape than Jack and that’s why I played against Savinho.”
“I want the boy who won the treble? Yes, I want that. But I try to be honest with myself about it.”
“You can say it’s unfair. If you think that, then it’s okay. But you have to prove it and say, ‘Okay, I’m going to fight with Savinho to deserve to play in this position every single day, every single week.’ and every single month’.
“I fought a lot for it [Grealish]I fought a lot for him to be here, for him to do it again and do it again, and I know he can do it because I saw him. I’ve seen his level and I want that in every single training session and in every single game. If not, there is Savinho.
“Is there anyone in this room who thinks Savinho doesn’t deserve to play at the moment? No, he deserves to play. That’s why I play against him – because he performs. That’s why he played. I have no doubt about the quality of Jack or any of these players, otherwise they wouldn’t be here.
“But they have to do their best now, today at 3 p.m. It’s not about what they have done or will do, it’s about 3 p.m. The one hour and 30 minutes or one hour and 45 minutes that we have. “When we play, the responsibility is on the players, not me, and they have to deliver every single game.”