Gareth Southgate has done Pep Guardiola huge favour as £100m ace makes holiday decision – Football News

Gareth Southgate has done Pep Guardiola huge favour as £100m ace makes holiday decision

Jack Grealish is training whilst on holiday in Italy (Image: Getty)

England manager Gareth Southgate appears to have done Pep Guardiola a huge favour in snubbing Jack Grealish for Euro 2024.

The Manchester City winger was surprisingly overlooked for the Three Lions’ squad, with Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze and Newcastle ace Anthony Gordon favoured due to their club form.

Grealish endured a tricky season with City, impressing during his link-up play but failing to be directly involved in goal-scoring actions – scoring three goals and registering one assist in 20 Premier League appearances.

The ex-Aston Villa playmaker has been loosely linked with a move away from the Etihad Stadium as a result, though Grealish appears to be determined to right the wrongs of last season and prove what he is truly capable of.

His omission from England’s squad may have been the spark that he required mentally to focus on improving this summer, as well as providing him with the extra time to train away from the distractions of international football – though he would, of course, favour being in the squad with his teammates.

Grealish appears to have seized the initiative though, recently sharing a picture on Instagram of him training at the Juventus’ academy training ground.

Don’t miss… Nathan Ake defends fans who were slammed for Ruud Gullit blackface

Gareth Southgate

Gareth Southgate decided to snub Grealish this summer (Image: Getty)

He captioned the post: “8pm, 25 degrees, perfect” along with a series of emojis that implied that he had been working hard and playing football whilst enjoying his holiday in Italy.

Guardiola will be pleased to see that Grealish has responded positively to his setback, especially as City are weighing up their options in the final third this summer – with several options being monitored closely.

Pep Guardiola

Pep Guardiola will be pleased with how Grealish has responded to the setback (Image: Getty)

READ MORE

  • Man Utd chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe gives verdict on Man City suing Premier League

Southgate spoke openly about how he decided to leave Grealish and Tottenham playmaker James Maddison out of his Euro 2024 squad, saying: “The fact is we’ve got some players who have been playing extremely well all season in the league and we just feel other players have had stronger seasons – particularly in the past six months or so.

“[James Maddison] and Jack [Grealish] would have provided us with something different as well and they’ve been tough calls. They’re calls we’ve gone over and over and over as a group of staff to try to be fair and to try to use the right rationale. We back our decisions but we recognise we could have gone a different route. The boys are big characters, fabulous team-mates and great boys to work with. It’s sad to have to deliver that news to them.”

Source: https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1914249/Man-City-news-Gareth-Southgate-Pep-Guardiola-Jack-Grealish