‘I play with a lot more freedom’ - Jack Grealish makes honest admission on role for club and country

Former Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish has said that he feels like he ‘plays with more freedom’ for England than at Manchester City.

Grealish was brought on as a late substitute during England’s 1-1 draw with Germany on Tuesday evening (7 June) and he made a big difference in levelling things up on the night for his country.

Despite going on to win the Premier League in his first year with Pep Guardiola’s side, Grealish’s debut season at the Etihad has been a mixed one, as he found himself in and out of the starting line-up for much of the season.

When asked by BBC Sport if he believes he plays with more freedom for country than club, Grealish said: “I do think that, yeah. I feel at times I’ve played a bit safe at City - but when I come here, I feel like even in training, I train really well, score goals, get assists and whatnot.

“When I come on the pitch… it’s hard to explain. I do feel like I play with a lot more freedom here and hopefully I can transfer that into my club football and keep on improving.

“That’s what the manager [Gareth Southgate] asked me to do - go on and be myself and try to create and that’s what I did.”

The Birmingham-born playmaker helped to change the game for England on Tuesday night, with Southgate’s side looking much more dangerous when Grealish came on with 20 minutes remaining.

The City forward caused the German defence a number of problems late on, and produced a brilliant cross for Harry Kane, whose resulting effort was well saved by Manuel Neuer.

The Man City forward will now be hoping to start England’s Nations League fixture against Italy at Molineux on Saturday (11 June).

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