Premier League’s Underachievers: 5 Big Names Missing the Mark So Far

2. Jack Grealish

Ah, yes, good ol’ Super Jack. Long gone are the days when Grealish has been seen in full flow, allowed the freedom to roam midfield and beyond to create for Villa. Last season, while still underachieving, can be considered a grace period (to some degree). We’ve seen it before, where it takes time for players to adapt to Pep Guardiola’s system, and his demands, but there hasn’t been much that signifies he shouldn’t still find himself on this list.

For those who have watched Manchester City, he has shown improvement, even enough to keep out Riyad Mahrez at times, but most are still calling for the end product, and rightfully so. The pressure, to some degree, is definitely a case of something that is out of Grealish’s control, as his price tag put a, well, price tag, on his head for all fans and media to target when he performs badly. The media has certainly gotten under his skin, understandably, and he recently made that known. Ed Mackey of Goal  caught this quote from Grealish:

"“Sometimes I want to say to them (English media), leave me alone a bit and focus on someone else, so that I can focus on my game… I imagine also that the fee Manchester City paid for me to Aston Villa contributes to this attention also.”"

He is an exciting player, without question, and if you’re an England fan, one would hope he can find his form again given the potential he has shown in prior years.