Jack Grealish had his hands full last month, not just with a football but with a baby! Yes, the Manchester City star entered the wonderful world of fatherhood after his partner Sasha Attwood gave birth to their baby girl, Mila Rose. And while Grealish was over the moon, he reckoned England’s interim boss Lee Carsley had it tougher, juggling England’s attacking options like hot potatoes.
When asked if Carsley would be getting less sleep than him, Grealish quipped, “Yeah, I reckon he’s probably had more sleepless nights with the players he’s got to pick from! But, yeah, obviously I’ve had a little girl.”
He went on to describe the monumental moment with all the gravitas of a man who’s seen it all: “Best moment of my life, hands down. I mean, how do you even explain it? You have all these great moments, but this one just slams them all out of the park. It was an insane day too—Sasha had a scan on Friday morning and bam! We found out she was coming early, so I legged it out of training on the Friday. Hopped on a train to London, and by Friday afternoon, there she was!”
But that’s not all. Superdad Grealish had to pull off a grand juggling act: “I stuck around for a couple of hours, then—because I love making life hard for myself—jumped on a plane to Newcastle for a game. I probably rocked up to the hotel around midnight, and, oh yeah, I was playing at 12:30 pm the next day. It was a wild 24 hours, mate.”
As if fatherhood wasn’t enough, Grealish was still stinging from his Euro 2024 snub, which he insists was a mistake on Gareth Southgate’s part. But that didn’t stop him from being determined to prove his worth under Carsley. “I’m not gonna lie, I didn’t agree with the decision then, and I still don’t. I should’ve been in Germany. But hey, it wasn’t meant to be,” Grealish admitted to the BBC. “It was tough, but I went back to pre-season knowing I had to show up and remind people what I can do.”
And remind people he did. “I think I’ve done that so far,” he said, cool as ever. “When you’re in that situation, you’ve got to flip it on its head and use it as fuel. I’m still working on it, but since Lee’s taken over, he’s been top-notch. Can’t praise him enough.”
Meanwhile, over in the land of strikers, Harry Kane was looking doubtful for England’s next game after skipping training—probably having a hard time deciding what to pack for Thursday night’s game against Greece in the Nations League. This might just give Ollie Watkins or Dom Solanke a chance to shine.
