Under the crisp March sky of 2025, England’s football scene buzzed with a drama that unfolded far from the pitch, centering on Jack Grealish, the Manchester City star whose off-field antics have sparked a storm. On March 14, Thomas Tuchel, the newly minted England manager, stepped into the spotlight to unveil his first Three Lions squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia. Among the notable absences was Grealish, a £100 million talent whose absence raised eyebrows and fueled speculation. With a candid blend of admiration and critique, Tuchel admitted it was “not ideal” that Grealish had been caught up in a boozy Newcastle night out earlier this month, yet he insisted the winger’s exclusion stemmed not from that escapade but from a deeper, sporting truth—one that Grealish himself had confessed in a private heart-to-heart.
The saga began in the neon glow of a Newcastle night, where Grealish, fresh off a rare start in Manchester City’s FA Cup win over Plymouth Argyle, embarked on a whirlwind of revelry. It wasn’t just a quick pint—the 29-year-old winger traced a trail from Gorton’s Lord Nelson pub, a stone’s throw from the Etihad Stadium, to a social club on Wearside, before capping the evening in Newcastle. Photos captured him looking worse for wear, a stark contrast to the polished athlete who once dazzled as England’s flair-filled enigma. Generous to a fault, he reportedly dropped hundreds of pounds behind the bars, treating punters to rounds as he soaked in the adulation of fans. But this wasn’t the Grealish of old, the one who danced past defenders with a grin; this was a man adrift, his season a patchwork of injuries and benchwarming, his rhythm lost in the shuffle.
Tuchel, a German tactician with a reputation for precision, didn’t mince words when addressing the incident. “Of course, it’s not ideal if he’s in the newspapers and out there in public,” he said, his tone measured yet pointed. He acknowledged the modern reality of fame—every phone a potential paparazzo, every moment a headline. “It’s maybe also not only his fault,” he mused, suggesting the media’s glee in amplifying such stories played its part. “Everyone has a phone in his pocket. The guys are famous, and they are public figures. This can happen.” Yet, he was quick to pivot, emphasizing that the Newcastle bender wasn’t the dealbreaker. “No one wants to have it, but this was not the reason for not picking him,” he clarified. Instead, the decision was rooted in something more fundamental: Grealish’s lack of form, a struggle he’d laid bare in their conversation.
“I love Jack,” Tuchel declared, his voice swelling with genuine affection. “As a headline, I love Jack. I love everything about him. I love his personality, I love his quality.” It was a glowing endorsement, a testament to the winger’s charisma and courage—qualities that shine whether he’s facing down the Bernabeu’s whistles or weaving through a Premier League backline. “The guy has courage, he can take the heat,” Tuchel continued, painting a picture of a player who thrives under pressure, unfazed by the spotlight. “So is he a player that should be available and can have an impact in our squad? Yes, 100 percent.” But love alone couldn’t secure Grealish a spot—not when his season has been a stuttering stop-start affair, a far cry from the rhythm he once rode to 39 England caps and a starring role in Euro 2020.
Grealish’s confession to Tuchel was raw and revealing. “Listen, Thomas, I’m not a start-stop player,” he’d said, his frustration spilling out. “It is so hard for me to influence a match from the bench and then be on the bench again, and then two weeks later I start again.” It’s a plight that’s defined his 2024-25 campaign at City. Since December, he hasn’t started a Premier League match, relegated to cameo roles in just three games this calendar year. Injuries—a groin issue chief among them—have plagued him, while the rise of players like Jeremy Doku and Omar Marmoush has shoved him down Pep Guardiola’s pecking order. “He simply has no rhythm,” Tuchel explained, echoing Grealish’s own assessment. “He himself and I agree 100 percent with this.” In his place, Tuchel turned to Anthony Gordon and Marcus Rashford, wingers with “more minutes, more intensity,” their form a stark contrast to Grealish’s faltering pulse.
The Newcastle night wasn’t Grealish’s first brush with off-field headlines, but it landed at a delicate moment. City’s season has unraveled—23 points adrift of Liverpool, a Champions League campaign on life support—and Grealish’s limited role has fueled whispers of discontent. Guardiola, ever the pragmatist, shrugged off the bender. “I judge what I see on the pitch, the training sessions, and the performances in the game,” he’d said days earlier, refusing to police his players’ private lives. “I want Jack at his best, of course, but he had setbacks.” It’s a stance Tuchel mirrored, albeit with a nudge toward responsibility. “He can be the glue in the team,” he noted, envisioning Grealish as a unifying force for young and old alike. “But this comes also with responsibility off the pitch.”
For Grealish, the omission stings—a fall from grace for a player who’d shone under interim boss Lee Carsley last fall, only to miss November’s Nations League games through injury. Once a linchpin for Gareth Southgate, his Euro 2024 snub still a sore spot, he now faces a fight to reclaim his England mantle. At 29, time is on his side, but the clock ticks louder with each missed chance. Tuchel’s squad, unveiled on Friday, leaned on experience—Jordan Henderson and Rashford recalled—while blooding youth like Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly. Grealish, caught in limbo, watched from the outside, his 605 Premier League minutes this season a thin thread to cling to.
The road ahead is a crucible. City’s next clash with Nottingham Forest looms, a chance for Grealish to prove his worth, but his future—both club and country—hangs in the balance. Tuchel hasn’t closed the door. “He’s a player that can have an impact in our squad,” he reiterated, leaving a sliver of hope. But rhythm, not revelry, will dictate Grealish’s return. The Newcastle night may fade from the headlines, but its echoes linger—a reminder of a talent teetering between brilliance and brinkmanship. For now, England marches on without him, Wembley’s twin qualifiers a distant stage. Yet in Grealish’s story, there’s a flicker of redemption waiting to ignite—if only he can find the beat again.
Leave a Reply