As last season concluded, it was made clear that Jack Grealish is no longer part of the plan at Manchester City. Manager Pep Guardiola made it clear- Grealish can, and should, find another club. No progress was made in terms of finding a new destination, although Everton FC, Newcastle United and (a return to) Aston Villa had all been linked as a potential suitors.
Grealish was left out of the Club World Cup squad, and the behind-closed-doors friendly against Preston North End. Grealish likely won’t be a part of the travel party to Sicily either.
Anglo Palermitan Trophy FYIs
Manchester City at Palmero F.C.
Competition: Club Friendly
Kickoff: Sat. Aug 9, 8pm, Renzo Barbera, Palermo, Sicily, Italy
Man City Preview Material: Team News Starting Lineup Prediction
Man City Team News
As the preseason exhibition at Palermo F.C. approaches on Saturday, nothing has been done towards finding Grealish a new team. It’s mid-August, and we’re in the same place that we were in May. Why? Because City want the other team to pay all of his wages. And they’re holding steadfast on this.
It doesn’t seem entirely right, does it?
It’s almost a tad nonsensical, at least for the interests of Grealish.
So let’s turn our attention towards the other City players who may also miss out on this match, but for different reasons. Rodri has been in full training with the rest of the squad only part of the time, lately. The Spanish midfielder has been training individually a significant portion of the time.
In other words, he’s being minutes managed this preseason, so one should not expect him to play a major role this weekend.
We also don’t know how much or how little John Stones will play in this match, given
1. how he did not feature at all in the Club World Cup and
2. how extremely injury prone he was last season too.
However, the England international said he’s feeling great right now; fully fit. He told reporters: “[I’m] Back to full fitness, feel great – I have been for a few months now – so I’m feeling good!”
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