Jack Grealish has seen it fit to let his performance on the pitch do the talking in response to one pundit’s criticism on social media, sarcastically labelling him a “small fish in a big pond” at Manchester City.
The former 27-year-old Villan scored his first goal of the season against Wolves at the weekend. Grealish left Villa wearing a price tag of £100-milion last summer and his massive fee seems to be weighing down on him in terms of his goalscoring, which has led to increased scrutiny for the winger, who recorded three goals and three assists in the Premier League last term.
Man City boss Pep Guardiola has weighed in on the discussion and admitted that the ‘noise’ engulfing Grealish’s exit from Villa Park could possibly have contributed to his lack of goals. However, despite bumping up his act and scoring in the opening minute at Molineux on Saturday, Grealish pundits still continued to question his performance, leading him to indirectly share his thoughts on social media.
Talksport presenter Mark Goldbridge was one such pundit who had claimed that the winger had been a ‘big fish in a small pond’ at Villa Park and is now claiming otherwise with the beleaguered winger at Man City.
Goldbridge asked: “Is Jack Grealish fulfilling his price tag and are we now at a point where if he just plays 70 minutes and does OK that’s classed as good enough?”
“I’m a massive fan of Jack Grealish. He should be in the England squad,” he continued. “I thought at Aston Villa he was a big fish in a small pond and he excelled and got hold of games. I watched Jack Grealish play for Aston Villa against decent sides and they knew he was a dangerman and he’d still have a good game.
“He’s now a small fish in a big pond at Manchester City and I don’t see the same Jack Grealish.”
Fortunately for Grealish there are those who are not in agreement with Goldbridge’s views and the latter was subsequently slammed by former Man City striker Paul Dickov, with the ex-forward calling for the pundit to “get off that bandwagon”, with Grealish liking his post on Twitter.
“He’s playing for the Premier League Champions & has had to adapt his game with arguably one of the best coaches we have seen & who keeps selecting him so he’s doing something right!” Dickov said. “Jack is top class so please appreciate that & get off that bandwagon!”