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'A confirmed Grealish fan but hard to see where he'd fit'

'A confirmed Grealish fan but hard to see where he'd fit'

1 day ago7 min read8 comments

The roar at Goodison Park tells you everything you need to know about the Jack Grealish renaissance. Since his loan move from the financial stratosphere of Manchester City to the blue-collar grit of Everton, Grealish hasn't just found minutes; he's found his soul again.The swagger, the mazy dribbles that recall a young Gazza, the sheer, unadulterated joy of playing football—it's all returned, making him an instant folk hero on Merseyside. Yet, when Thomas Tuchel unveiled his latest England squad, the clamour from the terraces was met with a sobering, tactical silence.Grealish's name was conspicuously absent, a decision that speaks less to his current form and more to the brutal, numbers-driven calculus of international management. Tuchel is, by all accounts, a confirmed admirer of Grealish's unique talents, but fandom and selection are two different leagues.The central, almost cruel dilemma is a simple one: where, precisely, does he fit? England's attacking midfield is currently a golden generation logjam, a problem of luxury that would be the envy of nearly every other nation. To accommodate Grealish, Tuchel would have to displace either Cole Palmer, the cool-headed prodigy whose vision and goal output have been phenomenal, or Phil Foden, the Stockport Iniesta, a player whose technical grace and creative output are already the stuff of legend.This isn't a slight on Grealish's electrifying performances over his seven Premier League games for Everton; it's a stark reality check. International football, especially in the run-up to a World Cup, demands a different kind of currency than club passion.It requires proven, sustained excellence over a significant sample size. Seven games, no matter how brilliant, are a highlight reel.Twenty games are a body of work. This is the unspoken challenge now laid at Grealish's feet: the task for the popular 30-year-old is to transform this explosive comeback story into a relentless, month-after-month campaign of dominance.He must prove that this isn't just a purple patch fueled by the adrenaline of a new challenge, but a genuine, lasting return to the elite level that makes him impossible to ignore. The narrative is compelling—the fallen star finding his light at a historic club—but Tuchel, a manager who thinks in systems and data, needs more than a narrative.He needs irrefutable evidence, week in and week out, that Grealish can consistently outperform the established superstars already in his squad. The battle for a place on the plane is not fought in a few glorious nights under the floodlights; it's a grueling marathon decided by a relentless accumulation of proof, and for all his recent heroics, Grealish is still just at the starting line of that race.