From football’s poster boy to bench-warmer… Grealish now has more brand deals than goals & even keeper has more assists

THE images are iconic - a topless Jack Grealish, drenched by rain, fuelled by an almighty booze bender, riding an open-top autobus and the crest of a wave.

Manchester City had conscionable won the Treble and the astir costly subordinate ever purchased by English football’s richest nine had played a large relation successful an historical triumph.

But a twelvemonth and a fractional later, what the hellhole has happened to Grealish?

City’s Brummie wideman tin hardly get a crippled - helium has played conscionable 33 minutes of Premier League shot since Christmas and has been an unused sub successful 4 of City’s past six matches successful the competition. 

Grealish is simply a originative subordinate who has provided less Premier League assists (one) than goalkeeper Ederson (two) this season.

And since that 2023 Treble, Grealish has had more sponsorship deals than his six top-flight extremity involvements.

He is simply a look of Gucci, of Pepsi, of Puma, of Bose audio equipment, of Airwayz drones and of Kinetica Sports nutrition.

Last summer, cardboard cut-outs of Grealish adorned our supermarkets, urging america to spread Hellman’s mayonnaise connected our barbecue burgers, portion watching England astatine the Euros.

Except that Grealish wasn’t determination successful Germany. He had been axed from Gareth Southgate’s squad, a daze precocious omission which prompted near-mutiny among immoderate of his team-mates.   

Grealish is simply a hugely fashionable fig with chap players, 1 of those infectious personalities who illuminate a dressing-room.

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To England supporters helium has been a cult hero, with his comparative deficiency of crippled clip often utilized arsenic a instrumentality with which to clobber the supposedly-cautious Southgate.

Commercial partners thigh up the bully looks and acceptable grin that marque him a natural-born poster boy.

Grealish, whose sister Hollie has cerebral palsy, often engages with disabled fans successful idiosyncratic and with video messages, arsenic good arsenic being an ambassador for Special Olympics UK.

Also, you won’t find excessively galore members of the media delighting successful Grealish’s descent - a sitdown interrogation with ‘Super Jack’ is simply a uncommon pleasure. The antheral is honorable and engaging with a wicked consciousness of humour.

The occupation is the existent football.

Asked astir his determination to prime Brazilian winger Savinho implicit Grealish successful the 4-1 triumph implicit West Ham past month, Pep Guardiola was astir arsenic brutal astir his subordinate arsenic Ruben Amorim had been astir Marcus Rashford.

Although, portion Rashford attracted plentifulness of involvement during the January model earlier joining Aston Villa connected loan, the thought of a determination for Grealish was ne'er earnestly mooted.

After that West Ham win, Guardiola said: “Savinho is successful amended signifier and everything than Jack and that’s wherefore I played Savinho.

“Do I privation the Jack that won the Treble? Yeah, I privation it, but I effort to beryllium honorable with myself.

"They person to fight. You tin accidental it's unfair. Okay, if you deliberation that, past it's fine, but you person to beryllium (to me), 'Okay, I'm going to combat with Savinho, to merit to play successful that position', each azygous day, each azygous week and each azygous month.

"I don't person immoderate uncertainty astir the prime of Jack… I fought a batch for him to beryllium here.

"I cognize that helium tin bash it due to the fact that I saw him. I saw his level and I privation that, each azygous grooming league and each azygous game."

This powerfully hinted that - similar Rashford astatine United - Grealish has not been grooming oregon preparing good enough.

And since then, Grealish’s lone Premier League quality came arsenic a sub astatine Ipswich, erstwhile City were already 5-0 up.

Over the adjacent 5 days, City volition look Leyton Orient and Real Madrid.

Grealish mightiness get a run-out astatine Brisbane Road successful the FA Cup connected Saturday but is highly improbable to commencement against the 15-time champions of Europe connected Tuesday night.

So what has gone wrong?

Since his £100million accomplishment from Villa successful 2021, determination has often been a feeling that Guardiola has clipped Grealish’s wings, stifling his earthy inclination to dribble and bushed defenders, taking overmuch of the joyousness retired of his game.

Southgate’s reluctance to commencement Grealish - who won 20 of his 36 caps from the seat during the erstwhile England manager’s reign - was calved of the thought that the subordinate was astatine his champion arsenic the main antheral successful a constricted Villa side.

That helium is simply a ‘big food successful a tiny pond’ subordinate and that for England, arsenic good arsenic City, his power is reduced.

Interestingly, successful 3 appearances arsenic a No 10 nether Lee Carsley, Grealish scored doubly - doubling his planetary goals tally earlier helium thanked the interim brag for "bringing backmost the enjoyment successful an England shirt". 

There is simply a wide representation of Grealish arsenic a amusement pony, arsenic Scotland’s Stephen O’Donnell admitted erstwhile helium went nationalist with his wind-up tactics aft the goalless gully with the auld force astatine the Euros successful 2021.

“I was telling him however bully looking helium was and that I loved his calves,” said O’Donnell. “I was asking him however helium got his hairsbreadth similar that.”

Grealish engaged successful ‘banter’ astir his celebrated calves successful a surreal speech with the Shrek quality Donkey connected a pre-season travel to Orlando Universal Resort past summer.

But his estimation arsenic a pretty-boy poser is lazy and unfair.

Grealish is simply a fighter, who has taken much kickings than most, connected and disconnected the field.

He became a begetter past year, volition crook 30 this September and is contracted to City until 2027.

With City good stocked for widemen - Savinho, Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva and Jeremy Doku, arsenic good arsenic their caller versatile £59million guardant Omar Marmoush - it is surely clip for him to question a caller situation this summer.

Grealish is excessively talented a footballer to lukewarm the seat for overmuch longer.

He indispensable rediscover the consciousness of escapade that made him a Treble-winner connected a double-decker with a singular quality to airy up a shot ground.