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Jack Grealish left out of Man City squad to face Fulham as uncertainty over future intensifies

The former Aston Villa player has only started seven Premier League games for City this season

Flo Clifford
Sunday 25 May 2025 15:46 BST
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Grealish has had limited game time this season despite City's slump
Grealish has had limited game time this season despite City's slump (Getty Images)

Jack Grealish has been left out of Manchester City’s squad to face Fulham on the final day of the Premier League season, with his future under Pep Guardiola in doubt.

Grealish has only started seven top-flight games this season and did not feature in the FA Cup final defeat to Crystal Palace, instead watching on as the 19-year-old debutant Claudio Echeverri was called into action.

He has scored just four times in the Premier League over the last two seasons and only netted once in the top flight, Champions League and FA Cup during this campaign.

It marks a major fall from grace for Grealish after he played a starring role in the Treble-winning side in 2022-23, and he could find himself following Kevin de Bruyne in being shuffled out the door at the Etihad.

The 29-year-old was signed for £100m from Aston Villa in 2021, at the time a Premier League record fee, but has been reduced to a bit-part player for City in recent years. He has two years left on his contract.

His lack of minutes has also hurt his England chances; he missed out on the Euros squad last year and has not been called back to Thomas Tuchel’s squad for the upcoming internationals.

Guardiola said last week that a decision would be made on Grealish’s future at the end of the season, with the winger a casualty of City’s enormous squad.

The manager recently half-jokingly threatened to leave if the squad wasn’t reduced, saying: “I said to the club I don't want that [a bigger squad]. I don't want to leave five or six players in the freezer. I don't want that. I will quit.”

City require a draw against Fulham on the final day of the season to secure Champions League football for next year after a season to forget for Guardiola’s side.

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