Joleon Lescott on Jack Grealish run of form – ‘He looks like he’s at home’ also hails 'huge' Phil Foden
ByTNT Sports
Published 03/03/2023 at 15:09 GMT
Jack Grealish and Phil Foden are both giving Pep Guardiola some good news with their form and according to former Manchester City defender Joleon Lescott the good play of the former is down to finally feeling comfortable within the team. With Foden, Lescott believes that any talk of a blip was premature and Foden’s class will always win out despite some questions.
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Speaking to BT Sport ahead of the clash with Newcastle United at the weekend former Manchester City defender Joleon Lescott has hailed the performances of England winger Jack Grealish, saying the forward finally looks at home in Pep Guardiola’s side.
Grealish, 27, joined City in the summer of 2021 from Aston Villa to much fanfare but the England international struggled initially to replicate the form he showed at Villa Park.
But recently things have clicked for Grealish, he scored in the win over Arsenal in February and has found himself starting more often and having more of an impact on the game.
Speaking ahead of City’s game against high-flying Newcastle United, which will be live on BT Sport, Lescott said he thinks Grealish is in a far better state mentally.
“I’m just pleased for him,” Lescott says of Grealish. “He seems to be enjoying it a lot more having spoken to him and when players have that you tend to get the best out of them.
“The manager’s picking him because he’s playing well - he hasn’t put in the team to play him into form. He’s doing well: it’s 21 goals and assists between him and Mahrez since the end of the World Cup, which is huge.
“He hasn’t gone on a run of unrealistic form, this is just a continuation of what he did at Villa. We saw the start of it last season but now he looks like he’s at home in the team and loves the style of play.”
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BRISTOL, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 28: Jack Grealish of Manchester City arrives prior to the Emirates FA Cup Fifth Round match between Bristol City and Manchester City at Ashton Gate on February 28, 2023 in Bristol, England. (Photo by Manchester City FC/Manchest
Image credit: Getty Images
Lescott also had positive things to say of another England international, Phil Foden, who scored twice against Bristol City in the FA Cup in midweek.
“Foden’s huge for City,” explains Lescott of the 22-year-old. “This is probably the first time since he came on the scene that there’s been question marks or doubts, but it’s just a dip in form and it happens to everyone.
“He’s massively important for the club and for the fans. Even before the World Cup he had eight goals, so it’s just a little dip and now he seems to be back.”
City go into the weekend five points behind league leaders Arsenal, with the Gunners kicking off at 15:00 UK time at home to relegation-strugglers Bournemouth.
Newcastle are in fifth place, four points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur, however they have two games in hand over the team from North London.
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