A few months ago, the prospect of Manchester United signing Jack Grealish was exciting the vast majority of fans. But things have changed.
United’s need for the Aston Villa star was seemingly linked to the future of Paul Pogba. The initial rumours also came prior to Bruno Fernandes’s January arrival.
According to the Manchester Evening News, United are the front-runners to sign Grealish. But where would he fit into Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team?
Fernandes is already the first name on the team sheet and Pogba’s future looks a lot clearer given the situation in world football right now.
While the Frenchman was once tipped to leave Old Trafford at the end of the current campaign. Now it seems unlikely that anyone would fork out the money required to sign the World Cup winner.
Given how well Pogba has played alongside Fernandes since recovering from injury, a United stay seems the most likely outcome. With Nemanja Matic excelling, and Fred and Scott McTominay on the bench, Grealish may struggle to fit.
That is even more likely when you consider the performances of Mason Greenwood on the right flank and Marcus Rashford’s place on the other.
Now or never
United’s need for Grealish has diminished considerably. However, could it be a case of now or never?
After all, the 24-year-old is likely to leave Villa this summer; even more so if they drop into the second tier. Grealish has shone time and again and a move to a European contender is well within his grasp.
While he is United quality, it would be interesting to see how Solskjaer would fit Grealish, Fernandes and Pogba into the same starting XI.
This season, Grealish has operated predominantly from the left wing and he is not going to usurp Rashford there. That said, he could offer an alternative that allows the England man a rest on occasions, especially given his recent back injury.
As an attacking midfielder, Grealish would also struggle to break down the blossoming partnership of Fernandes and Pogba.
He could play further back, dictating the play from deep. Yet he may struggle to do the shielding job of Matic or Fred.
The problem is, if United don’t sign Grealish now, they may miss out forever. He will almost certainly move on, so Solskjaer may be thinking that bringing him in now rules out any issues when Pogba does ultimately leave.
That move may not come until 2021. But come it almost certainly will.
If Grealish is already at United when that transfer comes, all the better.
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