Manchester City’s interest in Jack Grealish stepped up a notch this week as it was reported the club were ready to spend £100m to bring him to the Etihad.
City have been one of several top European clubs tracking the midfielder, and notably he nearly joined rivals Manchester United last summer after spearheading Aston Villa’s charge towards Premier League safety.
No move materialised and he stayed with his boyhood club, enhancing his reputation even further thanks to another campaign littered with standout performances. The same sealed his place in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for this summer’s big Euro 2020 tournament.
As a result, any potential deal is not expected to be completed before England's participation at the showpiece event is over, yet City will be hopeful of having Grealish’s transfer completed ahead of the new Premier League season.
Incorporating Grealish into what is already an elite level squad should be a mouthwatering prospect for City fans.
The 25-year-old is a maverick in terms of what he does on the pitch, whether he plays out on the left or more centrally, he’s capable of dribbling through defenders, evading pressure in tight spaces and is always a threat when inside the final third.
He scored six league goals last season and averaged 1.94 shots per 90. Whilst in terms of shot-creating actions per 90 - these being one of two actions such as a pass, dribble or winning a foul that lead shot on goal - Grealish had the second-highest per 90 average in the league with 6.18.
As we can see, only Kevin De Bruyne across the whole division could better that, whilst Grealish’s average is nearly twice the output of the second-highest ranked City player of the list, Riyad Mahrez.
Whilst both players benefit from taking set-pieces, thereby boosting their creative numbers, it’s worth noting that they both also rank inside the top three, alongside Bruno Fernandes, in terms of the highest number of passes made in open-play that led to shots on goal.
Effectively then, in Grealish, Pep Guardiola is injecting another playing with an almost identical creative output to De Bruyne. This could prove key when you consider the club’s intentions to also bring in a new centre-forward to replace Sergio Aguero this summer.
If they can land one of Erling Haaland or Harry Kane, two ruthlessly efficient forwards thought to be topping their shortlist, then having the two best creative midfielders in the league feeding them is sure to be a winning formula for the champions next season.
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