Jack Grealish the victim of £1m house burglary and could miss Sheffield United clash

Pep Guardiola could be without Jack Grealish for Manchester City’s final game of 2023 against Sheffield United after the England midfielder’s house was burgled.

Grealish was playing for the reigning champions during a come-from-behind 3-1 victory over Everton at Goodison Park when his Cheshire home was raided.

Members of his family, who were in the house at the time, sounded the alarm but the culprits still reportedly made off with around £1 million worth of jewellery and watches.

In a statement, Cheshire Police said: “At around 9.50pm on Wednesday, December 27 police were called to reports of a burglary in Chelford, near Knutsford.

“The caller reported that a number of items had been stolen. Officers, supported by the police dogs and National Police Air Service, were deployed and searches were conducted in the local area, but there was no trace of the suspects.

“No arrests have been made at this time and enquiries are ongoing.”

It’s not the first time a Premier League footballer has been targeted. Former City defender Joao Cancelo’s home was burgled last year, while Raheem Sterling was the victim of a similar attack when he was away with the England squad in Qatar for the 2022 World Cup.

Guardiola admitted it has become part of modern life and expressed his relief that nobody was harmed.

“Fortunately nothing wrong happened where the family was inside,” the Spaniard said during his press conference.

“It is what it is today in the modern day, with many things happening. It was a bad moment for him and his family but, fortunately, what was not damaged were the people inside.”

Guardiola added that he will “see how he feels” before deciding whether to include Grealish in the squad for the match against Sheffield United at the Etihad.

The City boss also gave an update on his injury list. It was hoped that Erling Haaland might be fit to return for the visit of Chris Wilder’s Blades, but Guardiola confirmed the Norwegian striker remains sidelined, as do Kevin De Bruyne, Jeremy Doku and John Stones, who took a knock against The Toffees.

“Nothing changed from the last game,” Guardiola said. “We have the same injuries plus John Stones.”

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