Pep Guardiola has stated that Jack Grealish's lack of starts for Manchester City is due to 'tactical considerations,' stating that he can't afford to remove Riyad Mahrez and Phil Foden at the moment.
Grealish, who joined the Etihad for a club-record £100 million last summer, has had a mixed season since joining from boyhood club Aston Villa, with only two league goals and two assists.
After joining the reigning Premier League champions, the England midfielder has had to adapt his game and has struggled to find his feet at times. While Guardiola believes the player can'make an impact,' he believes Mahrez and Foden gave the team a much better chance of opening teams up and scoring goals.
Guardiola remarked ahead of City's trip to Leeds United: 'He can [have an impact].' Nothing changes just because Riyad has been in that position for a long time and gives you something unique and distinctive in crucial games.' And Phil Foden, with his willpower and other attributes, is a force to be reckoned with. Phil's impact on the game is immense - it's purely because of that.'
Raheem Sterling is another player fighting for playing time, but Guardiola insisted that neither he nor Grealish were "terrible" players and that they both possessed other traits that he values in certain situations. Raheem Sterling is another player fighting for playing time, but Guardiola insisted that neither he nor Grealish were "terrible" players and that they both possessed other traits that he values in certain situations.
'Everyone knows how important Raheem is to all of us, particularly to me,' he added. 'However, at that time, I choose those players, not because [the others] are bad.' '[They] generate chances, and when they're in front of the goal, they have the sense to score a goal,' I always had the sensation with Phil or Riyad. 'This is one of the causes.' For that reason, I was assessed at Crystal Palace on my substitutes. They were in the middle of a game and had the impression that they could score a goal when we need it.
Sometimes we need a different style of game, one that is faster or more controlled - we could need Jack or Raheem.
'It's usually a tactical decision, not because I'm unhappy or they're not playing well.' 'It's for this purpose.'
Grealish has made 19 league starts this season, but he hasn't been able to duplicate his attacking statistics from his final season at Villa Park.
Before joining City, he had seven goals and ten assists in all competitions, however he has only five goals and three assists in total for City.
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