On an evening when England underwhelmed against Slovenia at Euro 2024, missing man Jack Grealish let fans know he was already preparing to come back stronger for the 2024-25 season.
Grealish struggled for minutes for Manchester City at the tail end of last season, with injury, illness and the form of team-mates all playing their part. He still forced his way into Gareth Southgate's preliminary 33-man squad for the Euros, but there was no place for him in the final 26.
In the absence of the £100million man, Southgate's team have struggled to create. The Three Lions have been defensively solid, conceding just once on their way to topping Group C, but many feel there has been something lacking further forward.
Tuesday night's goalless draw against Slovenia was enough for top spot, but fans were left underwhelmed by the performance. Some may have found themselves questioning whether the decision to leave out the likes of Grealish and Marcus Rashford was the right one, as some former pros and pundits have suggested.
Manchester City's players are expected back in training on July 9 if they are not on international duty this summer. Grealish, however, has been getting a head-start.
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The 28-year-old went on holiday after City won the league title, but has wasted little time getting back on the training ground. After a spell at Juventus ' facilities, he returned to his club's Etihad Campus where he shared footage of a session with personal trainer Jamie Reynolds.
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Jack Grealish shared a training video on Tuesday evening (jackgrealish/Instagram)
Grealish narrowly missed out on a place in England's Euro 2024 squad (Getty Images)"Just that final bit of quality, final pass, final finish on the cross," captain Harry Kane said when asked what England were missing against Slovenia. "But we created some half chances and we had one towards the end there that we maybe could have done better, but overall they defended well and made it hard for us.”
Manager Southgate also tried to look for the positives, saying: "I thought we were much improved with the ball. We created some good openings and at the moment it is hard work for us.
"We’re not quite getting that break in front of goal," Southgate continued. "I thought the boys that came on had a really good impact on the game. We’ve had the discipline to keep a clean sheet which meant that we topped the group. I understand some reactions, but it’s a strange environment we are playing in."
England's round of 16 game will see them take on one of five teams, including a Netherlands side who finished third behind Austria and France in Group D. The other potential opponent would be the third-place finisher from Group E, where any of Belgium, Romania, Slovakia and Ukraine could yet claim third spot.
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