Maresca refuses to close door on Grealish despite expected City exit after Community Shield

Enzo Maresca declined to rule out a future role for Jack Grealish at Manchester City after the winger made a surprise appearance in the second half of their Community Shield defeat to Arsenal in Cardiff, with City losing 3-0 after conceding inside the opening 25 seconds.

Grealish, 30, has started just one Premier League match since December 2024 and was absent from City’s pre-season tour to Asia, instead training individually in Mallorca. He returned to the squad last week and was handed 45 minutes against Arsenal, entering the pitch with his side already 2-0 down before Martin Odegaard added a third shortly after the restart.

Despite the difficult context of his cameo, Maresca offered a measured endorsement. “Jack was inside when we were 2-0 down so the game already became complicated after that, but overall I think Jack was good,” the City manager said. “The ones that are still here and want to work every day — if they deserve it, they’re going to get minutes. At the moment the transfer window is open and we will see what happens.”

Grealish is still widely expected to leave the club before the transfer window closes, either permanently or on loan. He spent the second half of last season on loan at Everton, where he showed brief promise before a serious injury cut his campaign short.

Maresca was candid about his concerns with City’s defensive display, particularly the manner of the first two goals conceded. “The first one because it’s after 25 seconds and after the second one there was no pressure on the ball,” he said. “I don’t know if it was physical condition — we had many players at the World Cup — but for sure the first two goals I don’t like.”

The City manager did find some positives in his side’s reaction after falling behind initially, while acknowledging the second goal made recovery near-impossible. “At this level it’s so similar — when you are able to react in the way we did it’s good, but after the second goal it was more complicated,” he added. “In general I’m always concerned, even when we win games, so imagine when we didn’t win. It’s just the beginning; we have many things we need to do better.”