More similar to David Silva, I'd say, which is why I can see him dropping into a centre-mid role once he understands the positional requirements.Grealish is not more of the same (players we already have). Compare him to Sterling, Foden, Bernardo and Kevin.
Unlike Sterling, Grealish is more of a left-sided playmaker than a winger. For instance, Ronaldinho played mostly on the left side, but he wasn't a winger. So, Grealish is nothing like Sterling. His ability to hold on the ball when pressed and create is on a completely different level to Sterling's.
Grealish is better than Foden at keeping possession in the final 3rd and at creating chances. Foden is more direct and poses a bigger goal threat, he is generally more talented, but he is more likely to lose the ball when pressed.
Grealish is more creative than Bernardo, he is more like Kevin in terms of creativity. But he is less direct than Kevin and less likely to lose the ball when pressed. Also, he is better at running at players than both Bernardo and Kevin.
Now, do we really need another playmaker in a team as creative as ours? Well, we barely created anything against Chelsea in the CL final. One of the main reasons was that we couldn't deal with Chelsea's pressing. We couldn't hold on the ball in the final 3rd which diminished our creativity. Arguably, Grealish could give us more stability in the final 3rd in games against teams like Chelsea or Liverpool. More stability in the final 3rd would mean not only more creativity, but also fewer opportunities to get countered. That's why I think that signing Grealish makes a lot of sense, apart from him being a wonderful player. Can't wait to see him next to Foden and KDB.
2 great assists that Sterling and Jesus didn't score, great combination when he was more central, his dribbling as usual top-notch, and he stopped a couple counterattacks. He just creates danger whenever he is with the ball.
You are comparing Grealish to the best playmaker in the last 5 years (and probably a tp 3-5 player in the world). By that measure Bernardo played bad because he had a lot of ball and he only created one dangerous play(besides the goal that was more luck than anything else). I agree on his pressing though, it needs to get better.This is going to sound quite negative but it's not meant to be, he played reasonably well overall but he needs to be better than that in my eyes.
He had a shit load of the ball today and whilst it was often neat and tidy, with some good link up play he has to be having a telling impact on games and that didn't happen. Just said it elsewhere but kdb with that much of the ball today gets an assist or a goal minimum and that's what he has to be doing. He himself has said the same thing.
He also needs to work on his pressing, first half especially, everybody pressed high and Leicester's out ball was always when it went towards Grealish who was just a little too slow and undone all the good work the rest of the frontline did in trying to force a mistake and turn the ball over. Good work rate to get back in the second half and you can see signs of willingness but needs a bit of time to shake off that "ill wait for somebody to get me the ball" mentality he's gained and become used to from being the best player on the pitch at villa.
Because we paid £100 million for him in an area we're well stacked in. I know he didn't decide his price but that's what we paid so we have to expect that kind of output from him otherwise we don't spend that.You are comparing Grealish to the best playmaker in the last 5 years (and probably a tp 3-5 player in the world). By that measure Bernardo played bad because he had a lot of ball and he only created one dangerous play(besides the goal that was more luck than anything else). I agree on his pressing though, it needs to get better.
My thoughts too. He’s an excellent option for Pep. I’m really excited to get Phil and Kev back and let him build an understanding and find his place with those two. He’s still so new to a very demanding team and coach.More similar to David Silva, I'd say, which is why I can see him dropping into a centre-mid role once he understands the positional requirements.