Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku despite arrving for a combined £155.5 million have been underwhelming. Those two have been known for their dribbling and flair in the modern game. This has not been on display ever since they arrived to the Manchester side.
Jack Grealish cost a then British transfer record of £100 million. He would have an amazing season at Aston Villa and was touted as the next star for England. Unfortunately he would only rack up 17 goals and 23 assists in the Premier League for Manchester City in 157 appearances.
There are currently rumours about a loan move to Everton for Grealish. Even Jeremy Doku has been unable to impress. With fans especially noticing that the City wingers do not take on their man and rather would pass to someone like Rodri or Gvardiol making an overlapping run.
With now David Ornstein reporting that Savinho is ron his way to Tottenham, the question which needs to be answered is what is going on with the City wingers?
Pep’s Tactical Philosophy
A clip on social media would share something interesting. Pep Guardiola is instructing his wingers to hug the touchline and drag their defender with them, making space for a midfielder in that area.
"what happened to Jack beating his man like before?”
— foland (fan) (@propsMCFC) August 9, 2025
"why isn’t Doku taking on defenders like he used to?”
never blame them again. here is the reason why:
pic.twitter.com/OB3Tmcyzxp
As you can see it is the idea of Pep to create space for someone like Foden to whip in a cross for Erling Haaland. This space as mentioned earlier arrives by the winger dragging the defender to the touchline.
This has therefore killed the game threat of their wingers and someone like Jack Grealish has suffered massively. His game at Villa was all about him making things happen using his dribbling and body feints.
As seen in the video, Grealish likes to cut inside and either shoot or pass to his teammate. This side of him has been absolutely killed as Pep doesn’t want his wingers to take any risks and keep it simple.
He also worked best as a number 10 rather than playing at left wing.
Same can be said for Doku, relying on his individual brilliance to take on defenders and create chances. This led to a high volume of dribble attempts, with one report stating he completed 93 dribbles in the 2022-2023 season at Rennes.
At Manchester City, Doku’s dribbling is still a prominent part of his game, and he has demonstrated his skill with impressive performances, such as completing 11 dribbles in a single match against Liverpool. However, within Pep Guardiola’s system, his play is more integrated and strategic.
Instead of simply being a high-volume dribbler, he is a cog in a machine that prioritizes progressive carries and touches in the attacking box, using his dribbling to open up space and contribute to the team’s overall attacking flow, rather than as a sole means of creating an opportunity. The numbers reflect this shift, with his dribble count per game decreasing slightly, even as his overall attacking contribution and effectiveness have increased.
What next?
With the creativity of De Bruyne leaving the Manchester City side, the slump of Foden and now likely departures of Savinho and Grealish. Will Pep change his attacking style to be more direct and forgo some control and let his wingers take more risks?
