Opinion: Jack Grealish and Tottenham – A perfect match made for this summer

Pep Guardiola is frequently accused of ‘ruining’ Jack Grealish, with Don Hutchinson even stating that a player who used to be known as one of the Premier League’s most entertaining players ‘is starting to become very predictable’  (The Gab and Jules Show).

Grealish is set to have his least minutes played in a season since 2015/16, with the 28-year-old only playing 998 minutes of Premier League football this season and most frustratingly for the winger, being an unused substitute seven times. (FBRef).

Reports have started to emerge that perhaps Manchester City are ‘willing to listen to offers’ for their £100 million man. If Grealish is shipped away from Manchester this summer, the former Villa attacker should be seeking a new home that will allow him to express himself and reach the sort of form that made Man City buy him in the first place.

Tottenham can be that home. Postecoglou has experience working with players with such individual brilliance, with Heung-Min Son, James Maddison & Yves Bissouma all being players that are renowned for their spectacular abilities, and in the case of the last two names, players that are particularly lauded for their ball carrying abilities, much like Grealish.

Although Bissouma has had a rocky second half of the season, Ange had appeared to have extracted the best from the Malian at the start of the season. In November Bissouma explained the way Postecoglou helped him back to his best, and it’s exactly what Grealish seems to be missing. Bissouma explained ‘he [Postecoglou] gives me all his trust’ and that he ‘was already confident but what Ange told me was special. It changed something’. (Football.London)

James Maddison has similarly been entrusted with being the team’s creator, clearly being allowed to take more risk-averse passes in games that some players are often scared to do, this is reflected by Tottenham’s number 10 being the league’s leader in shot-creating actions per 90 (6.85). (FBRef)

The ability to let players excel in their areas of expertise is where Tottenham, Ange, and Grealish can create the perfect marriage.

Jack Grealish at Aston Villa was consistently one of the most dynamic and creative players in the division. In 2019/20 Grealish was 9^th in the league for the most successful take-ons (73) and 2^nd in the league for the most progressive carries (212) all as part of a team that narrowly escaped relegation. (FBRef)

Should Tottenham bid for Jack Grealish?

Tottenham lack this in their team, especially out wide. Dejan Kulusevski, who doesn’t start regularly anymore, has the most successful take-ons for Spurs with 51, placing him 12^th in the league. The area for improvement however has to be the left wing. (FBRef)

Spurs have deployed Timo Werner on the left in recent times, but his wastefulness in front of goal and cheap price tag suggests that even if he is signed it will be for depth, with another left winger needed at N17. The winger must be creative and pose a one-on-one threat, Spurs this season too many times have been forced to play backwards and been frustrated by low blocks with Maddison the team’s only real creative outlet.

The observation can be proven by the fact that all Spurs’ players who have featured regularly on the left wing this season (Son, Johnson & Werner) have only successfully completed 65 take-ons all season combined. That’s 35 less than the league’s leader, Mohammed Kudus alone. (FBRef & FBRef)

Grealish’s other valuable ability was his creativity. In his final season at Aston Villa he averaged 6.96 shot-creating actions per 90 (FBref), Werner and Johnson are only averaging 3.78 & 2.95, respectively, this season. (FBRef)

The ability to beat defenders and offer a different avenue of creativity, often from the left wing, is something that Grealish possesses, that stats can’t entirely convey. Another source of creativity would also lighten the load on James Maddison through the middle, the Spurs vice-captain is clearly being targeted, with teams seeing the former Leicester player as the Lilywhite’s main creative output, shown by the fact he’s the fourth most fouled player in the Premier League. (FBRef)

It’s also key to consider that Maddison gets injured frequently, likely due to the high volume of fouls he faces, and therefore Grealish’s versatility is yet another reason why he could slot into the Spurs side perfectly.

Being able to play both out wide, and through the middle, whilst still offering the same qualities is key and could be vital for Spurs if they have ambitions to compete in four competitions next season.

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