Man City’s Jack Grealish says he should have gone to Euro 2024 – this may be his last chance to prove it

Few players will have enjoyed the level of raw catharsis at the moment of scoring as Jack Grealish did when he rifled England’s second goal into the far corner of the net against the Republic of Ireland last month.

Not only did his goal come just half an hour after being jeered from half the seats in the Aviva Stadium as he faced his ‘former country’, if such a thing exists, but it marked the moment that he vindicated his recall by interim head coach Lee Carsley after he had been left out of Gareth Southgate’s squad for Euro 2024. Based on his comments yesterday, it seems that it’s an omission that still stings.

“I will be honest with you, I didn't really agree with it," the Manchester City man told BBC Radio 5 Live. “I have won a lot of stuff… You asked me should I have gone? Yes, I still think I should have… [It was] probably the most difficult period of my life.”

He went on to praise Carsley to the rafters for bringing him back into the fold ahead of September’s Nations League games against Ireland and Finland, both of which Grealish started and starred in. Carsley, he said, had “shown trust in me and communicated with me”. He did not say a bad word against Southgate, but the condemnation by comparison seemed apparent.

Certainly, at face value, Grealish has made his case for a place among the Three Lions very well. Even outside of his well-taken finish in Dublin, he was excellent for England, showing plenty of creative sparkle as he plied the channels behind Harry Kane, finding space and opportunity to dance his way past defenders.

It was, perhaps, the most that he has looked like Jack Grealish since he left Aston Villa. The piratical, daring winger that persuaded Manchester City to stump up £100m to sign him has become a very different player under Pep Guardiola – a passer, not a runner; a system man, not a dazzling individualist. As he pointed out, he’s won a lot of silverware as a result, but his personal stock has fallen despite the role he has played in a record-breaking run of trophies.

But if there was a sense that Guardiola had surgically removed the wings from this particular butterfly, there is mounting evidence that he is growing them back. He has been on good form of late, registering assists against Newcastle United and Watford in the EFL Cup and showing a little more of his old bravado. He is dribbling more, beating more men, and creating more shooting chances for his team-mates – 6.31 ‘shot-creating actions’ per game in the Premier League so far this season, a substantial increase on the last couple of years and the most since his last season at Villa Park. Both the statistics and the eye test suggest that he is playing better, coming back into his own.

It would be an exaggeration to suggest that he has broken the shackles entirely. His passing, movement off the ball and role in the broader scheme remain largely the same. Rather, he is finding more space within the strictures of Manchester City’s system in which he can express himself.

None of which necessarily means that Southgate was wrong to exclude him from the 26-man squad that went to the last European Championship – just as Carsley wouldn’t be wrong to drop him to the bench in this week’s games against Greece at Wembley and Finland in Helsinki. The problem isn’t that Grealish himself is subpar, although his form for the last two seasons arguably was. The problem is that there are other players who score more, provide more and simply do more.

Grealish was handed the number ten role in September not as a rebuke to Southgate’s selection policy, but because others were unavailable. Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Cole Palmer were all nursing injuries and either dropped out of the squad or weren’t selected in the first place. All three are now back in the fold.

All three have also been far more productive for their clubs and, by and large, for their country in recent years. Even at his best, Grealish was simply not as much of a goal threat as any of the alternatives. His best season in terms of end product, which was his last season at Aston Villa, generated 16 combined goals and assists. Foden managed 27 last year, Bellingham 25 and Palmer a massive 33. Grealish has been playing for one of the best sides in club football but lagging behind his peers.

Southgate was right not to take him to Germany. Not because Grealish is a poor player or because he couldn’t have played a part for the Three Lions, but because his competition for the positions he can play is fierce, and he has been losing that battle for some time. He is a fine player and his self-confidence is justified – but he is simply not as fine a player as those who were above him in Southgate’s pecking order.

Carsley’s pecking order is less clear and in the long run will only matter if he is handed the job on a full-time basis down the line, but the same players are in the reckoning and are still scoring and creating more. Grealish played very well indeed against Ireland and Finland, but that doesn’t mean that Bellingham or Palmer would not have played even better given the same chance.

If he wants to put some evidence down that he is capable of being better for England than his rivals, then this may be the week in which he has to do it. He played well enough last time to be given another chance to play – meanwhile, Foden is only just back to fitness and Anthony Gordon hasn’t necessarily been at his best of late, which may create an opening on the left wing. Perhaps Kobbie Mainoo’s withdrawal from injury will encourage Carsley to play a more attacking midfield three which could feature Grealish and Bellingham alongside each other.

There is still an opening here, just about. Grealish has to take it now if he wants to prove that Southgate was wrong to leave him at home over the summer, and if he wants to cement a place in the squad for the rest of Carsley’s tenure, however long that may be. Fail to hit the high notes against Greece on Thursday or in Helsinki over the weekend, and he may be back to being a bit part player once more.