Pep Guardiola has been slammed for wasting Jack Grealish at Manchester City by consistently playing the England star out of position.
Despite City’s struggles, Grealish has started just one of the last three games for Guardiola’s side since returning from a lengthy injury that ruled him out for a month.
It represents a familiar story for the 29-year-old who has shown flashes of his quality during his five seasons at the Etihad but has often failed to nail down a permanent starting berth in Guardiola’s side.
His only flashes of brilliance so far this campaign came in an England shirt when he was deployed more centrally by former interim manager Lee Carsley.
Grealish scored a well-taken goal against the Republic of Ireland in Carsley’s first game in charge and did so again against Finland the following month.
And having enjoyed success in a similar role at Aston Villa prior to his big-money move, Shay Given, a former teammate of Grealish, admitted he was dumfounded by Guardiola’s use of the midfielder.
‘I know I’m slightly biased because I played with Jack at Aston Villa, so I know Jack’s won all these trophies and Champions League and Premier Leagues and stuff, but I think he’s playing out of position,’ he told BBC’s Football Daily.
‘He has done so since the day he joined Man City. I think he’s a waste on the left wing, I think he’s like a mannequin at times and I feel sorry for him out there.’
Referencing Grealish’s performance against Ireland Given added: ‘I know he didn’t start at the weekend, but I was in Dulin two months ago watching him play for England and he was playing central and he was monumental.
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‘I think he’s a generational talent going to waste at Man City. That sounds a bit harsh perhaps on Pep but I think he’s such a talented player playing out of position.’
Defeat at Anfield to Liverpool on Sunday made it seven games without a win in all competitions for the Premier League defending champions.
Guardiola’s side will look to end their winless streak against Nottingham Forest on Wednesday but the Spaniard was adamant his side weren’t even considering the league title right now given their poor run of form.
‘After the results in the past to think about a big target [winning Premier League] would be a big mistake,’ he said at his pre-match press conference.
‘We need to beat a team close to us and take advantage to be closer to the top four. We are not far away from being the second team in the league but it is all about consistency.
‘Liverpool as a team have been magnificent and you just have to fight and win games. Step by step we have to move forward again.’
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