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Lee Carsley believes Jack Grealish’s return to England as a goalscorer will have done him “the world of good”, but insists the Manchester City star has “nothing to prove” after missing out on Euro 2024.
Grealish was controversially left out of Gareth Southgate’s squad for this summer’s tournament after a disappointing season at club level, in a move that left the player and his senior team-mates stunned.
He was immediately recalled by Carsley, who was placed in caretaker charge, and started at No.10 in Saturday’s 2-0 win over the Republic of Ireland in Dublin.
The 28-year-old’s goal midway through the first half, doubling England’s lead given by Declan Rice, was his first international goal since the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and only his third in 37 appearances.
“I thought they both took their goals really well,” Carsley said. “Very well-worked moves and brilliant finishing. I think going forward they can both add a lot more goals to their game.
“Jack clearly has nothing to prove to us, we see his quality, but today he will have done the world of good by scoring another goal for England and I hope he can continue in this vein.”
Grealish and Rice both received a hostile reception at the Aviva Stadium after representing Ireland at youth level – and, in Rice’s case, in three senior friendlies – but were unfazed by the response.
“It’s what Declan and I were expecting,” Grealish said. “We’ve got nothing bad to say, we both enjoyed our stay. [playing for Ireland] – That’s true, and I have a lot of Irish in my family, so there’s absolutely no bad blood on my side.
Grealish has started just one of Manchester City’s first three Premier League games this season and will face further competition for both club and country when Phil Foden returns from illness after the international break. However, the former Aston Villa player will be hoping his performance in the Irish capital can mark the start of a sustained return to fitness.
“I need to start playing regularly, scoring goals, and that’s what I did today,” he told ITV. “I’m not 100 per cent fit yet but I’m getting there, so from a personal point of view I’m happy.
“To go up to the fans at the end and hear them chanting my name, listen, there’s no better feeling than playing for England, everyone will say the same thing, especially in games like this when you know the whole nation is going to be watching.
“This summer was one of the worst of my life because you can’t not see everything that’s happening in front of you. It was difficult but it gave me something to bounce back from.”
