Thomas Tuchel admits Jack Grealish must show “responsibility” off the pitch despite insisting he did not leave the Manchester City star out of his first England squad because of his behavior.
Grealish was one of the more high-profile omissions on Friday when Tuchel named his group for the FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia.
The 29-year-old has not made an English Premier League start for City in three months due to a combination of injuries and poor form.
Photo: Reuters
Grealish might not be making headlines on the field, but he continues to do so off it.
Pictures recently emerged of him apparently visiting several venues in the northeast of England where he reportedly bought drinks for locals at a social club.
Tuchel was adamant Grealish’s antics were not the reason for leaving him out, citing “sporting” issues instead.
“I love Jack. I love everything about him. I love his personality, I love his quality. The guy has courage, he can take the heat, he’s not afraid of the whistles when he’s on the ball,” Tuchel said.
“So, is he a player that should be available and can have an impact in our squad? Yes, 100 percent, but lately, he simply has no rhythm and he himself — and I agree 100 percent with this — said: ‘Listen, Thomas, I’m not a start-stop player — 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,” he said.
“I’m not judging anyone, not at all, but it’s just a characteristic of Jack, and he has, of course, a character to him that he can be the glue also in the team. It’s very easy for youngsters to be attached to him and to be close to him, but this comes also with responsibility off the pitch,” he added.
Grealish had featured in the England squads selected by interim manager Lee Carsley after being left out of Gareth Southgate’s group for last year’s UEFA European Championship.
On Grealish’s unwanted headlines off the pitch, Tuchel said: “No one wants to have it, but this was not the reason for not picking him.”
“It was sporting and on his position, Anthony Gordon has just more rhythm, more minutes, more intensity and Marcus [Rashford] came in, so these were the two picks ahead of him,” he added.
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