Manchester City fullback Rico Lewis was sent off in the later stages of his side’s 2-0 win over Wydad AC yesterday. The booking was controversial, to say the least, but it is what it is and now Rico Lewis serve a one-match ban against United Arab Emirates side Al-Ain. He’ll be available again for the final group stage clash versus Juventus next week. Elsewhere Mateo Kovacic remains the only injury absentee while Jack Grealish is still on the hunt for a new club.
Yesterday saw City manager Pep Guardiola re-affirm/double down/make it even more clear that Grealish must exit the club this summer.
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“It was a conversation between him and the club and they decide. Jack is an exceptional player, the only reason why he didn’t play last season is of course my decisions, and we decide that he has to play – and the club was honest, he was honest.
“We decide the best is that he has a place that he can feel he can play and come back to be the player that he was in the year of the treble or all his career at Aston Villa; without him it would have been impossible or more difficult to achieve the treble.
“The fact is the last two seasons he hasn’t played much minutes and he has to come back to play and get the butterflies back in his stomach that he can play every three days and show again the quality that he has.”
City are having real problems offloading Grealish, due to his astronomically high wages. To the extent that there is a front-runner for the egregiously expensive winger’s services, it’s Napoli. However, there are plenty of issues to sort out first before any potential deal can happen there.
Finding a new home for Grealish, at least thus far is proving to be a challenge.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter