Pep Guardiola verdict shows Man City have lost one of their treble undroppables

The lazy conclusion would be that the 2023/24 version of Jack Grealish is looking more like the 2021/22 version of Manchester City's £100million man than the treble-winning 2022/23 version.

"He’s one of the players who we couldn’t have done what we did winning the treble like we did without him," said Pep Guardiola on Saturday, entirely correct in his analysis. Grealish returned from the World Cup with a point to prove, laying on two assists at Leeds, another at Chelsea, and scoring at Old Trafford.

After that, he started 15 Premier League games in a row, with City losing just once, and started every Champions League knockout game en route to the European Cup. He started the semi-final and final of the FA Cup and was integral to City's historic season. Now, he's back to scrapping for minutes off the bench, and Guardiola has identified what needs to improve.

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Grealish only has two league starts all season - against Newcastle and Sheffield United. After a dead leg kept him out of three league games, he hasn't started since, playing just 28 minutes over three substitute appearances in the last three games. He was unused at Arsenal. He has one assist to his name all season.

Jeremy Doku was preferred on Saturday against Brighton, setting the Blues on their way as he left James Milner behind to set up Julian Alvarez for the opener. Both Doku and Phil Foden have more starts on the left-wing in the league than Grealish, as well as seven starts between them in all competitions on the right. Their versatility and directness are proving more valuable to Guardiola