Jack Grealish wants Graeme Souness to leave him alone as row continues

Jack Grealish has said he would like Graeme Souness to leave him alone as the Manchester City star continued the war of words between himself and the former Liverpool captain. The Sky Sports pundit has been among many within the English game to have criticised the 27-year-old and it is clear that the comments are starting to take a toll on the player. Grealish has come under fire from some onlookers since his big-money move from Aston Villa to the Sky Blues in 2021. Many believe he is yet to hit the heights he reached in the Midlands, scoring just seven goals and contributing four assists since his arrival. He has regularly found himself on the bench despite costing around £100million with the likes of Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez and Bernardo Silva ahead of him in Pep Guardiola’s pecking order. Souness has been one of his strongest critics, suggesting he was ‘not a great player’ earlier in the season, something Grealish personally objected to. Now, the winger has asked the Scotsman and his colleagues to leave him alone in order to help him focus on improving his own game. ‘I often feel like I just do exactly the same things as the other players, but people talk about them because it is me doing them,’ Grealish told the French publication L’Equipe. ‘Today, we, the footballers, if we allow ourselves to respond to something said about us, we are portrayed as if we are people who cannot stand criticism.JUST IN: Hargreaves names Man Utd’s ‘perfect attacker’ who can score 250 goals Jack Grealish and Graham Souness are invovled in a row over comments made about the Man City star (Image: GETTY/TalkSport)’Sometimes I want to say to them [pundits in England], ‘Leave me alone a bit and focus on someone else’ so that I can focus on my game. Because there is always this noise around me.’The row between the two broke out in September after the pundit told TalkSport that Grealish had significant room for improvement at the Eithad. ‘He is a good footballer. He is not a great player,’ he said. ‘He is a good player who got a big move and is yet to do it at Man City. I understand why people think he is better than he actually is – because he runs with the ball and gets you on the edge of your seat.’But he doesn’t deliver enough. He doesn’t see the right picture and he doesn’t deliver it quickly enough. If he was a star every week, we would not be having this type of conversation about him.’ READ MOREChelsea suffer blow in £43m bid to replace Reece James in January transfer windowArsenal boss Mikel Arteta brutally honest after PSV loss as he demands Gunners ‘reset’Arsenal’s Pablo Mari breaks silence after being stabbed in attack which left one dead Jack Grealish has only shown his best form in flashes for Manchester City (Image: GETTY)The comments elicited a public response from Grealish himself, who suggested Souness’ issue with him was personal. ‘I don’t know what his problem is with me,’ he said. ‘I try not to read it, obviously it’s difficult when he’s on talkSPORT or Sky Sports and it’s everywhere around the training ground at times.’He was obviously a great player. I don’t know what it is with what he says about me or what problem he’s got. I know my own ability.’Grealish’s latest comments will likely bring a response from Souness as the row between the pair continues. It remains to be seen how the debate between the two will develop with bad blood self evidently remaining between them. WIN A FREE ENGLAND SHIRT FOR THE WORLD CUP! Want the latest Premier League news as we publish it on Express Sport? Join our brand new Facebook group by clicking here