Jack Grealish shows off famous calves after cutting short his and girlfriend Sasha’s holiday to join England training
JACK GREALISH showed off his bulging calves after cutting short his holiday with girlfriend Sasha Attwood to link up with the England squad.
Grealish, 28, was having some down time following Manchester City’s FA Cup final defeat to Manchester United.
Both the Man City and Man Utd players were not expected to report for international duty until next week.
However, Grealish is keen to ensure he makes the cut when Gareth Southgate reduces the squad from 33 to 26 following the upcoming friendlies against Bosnia and Iceland.
Grealish, who has been linked with a move to Bayern Munich, has endured a poor season with the Premier League champions as injury and inconsistent form have seen him rack up just three goals and three assists.
But he appeared in buoyant mood after joining the England squad ahead of schedule as he smiled while sitting on the floor in a picture posted to social media on Friday.
The ex-Aston Villa ace gave fans a look at his huge calves in two pictures as he was also seen training alongside Tottenham playmaker James Maddison.
Other snaps included him chatting with England team-mates Maddison and Declan Rice, while he was also pictured dribbling up against Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones.
Grealish, who is being joined by John Stones, Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw in reporting for England training early, faces stiff competition to make Southgate’s final squad – which will be submitted by midnight on June 7 and announced on June 8.
Harry Kane, Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka and Cole Palmer are expected to be certainties in the squad.
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Meanwhile, forwards Grealish, Eberechi Eze, Anthony Gordon, Jarrod Bowen, Maddison, Ivan Toney and Ollie Watkins are fighting to avoid the axe.
Jeremy Doku has often been preferred to Grealish on the left-hand side of Man City’s attack this season.
But last month Pep Guardiola defiantly insisted Grealish will re-discover his form.
The Man City boss said: “He will be back.
“He’s struggled this season and Jeremy has made an incredible step forward as everyone has seen in the last games.
“But Jack will be back at the level of last season, I’m pretty sure.”
Jack Grealish's Euro 2024 place in jeopardy
By Martin Blackburn and Charlie Wyett
JACK GREALISH is sweating on a Euro 2024 place after a nightmare end to the season.
The £100million star celebrated Manchester City’s four-in-a-row title success on a bus parade yesterday.
But now he is battling with Tottenham’s James Maddison to secure a spot in Gareth Southgate’s England squad.
Cole Palmer, Jarrod Bowen and Anthony Gordon all look certain to go after excellent seasons with their clubs — while Bukayo Saka is guaranteed a spot.
But Grealish, 28, has struggled and his lack of match action for his club will be a big concern for the Three Lions boss.
The former Aston Villa captain has featured in only one of City’s final five matches.
That was a ten-minute run out in the 5-1 win over Wolves this month.
He was not thrown on at Wembley as the below-par champs desperately searched for a way back in to Saturday’s 2-1 FA Cup Final defeat to rivals Manchester United.
City boss Pep Guardiola explained his decision afterwards by admitting the attacker has “struggled” this season.
He has challenged him to recapture the form from the back end of the 2022-23 season when he helped the club secure an historic Treble.
Guardiola said: “He will be back. He’s struggled this season — Jeremy Doku has made an incredible step forward as everyone has seen in the last games.
“But Jack will be back at the level of last season — I’m pretty sure.”