Jack Grealish

I haven't actually watched Grealish play this year (either at Villa or England), but it doesn't surprise me that he's now starting to get more acknowledgement of his ability. I strongly wanted him before this season, and if it weren't for the fact I'm not sure how he'd do on the right I would have been as happy to sign him as I would have been Sancho. But even so he would have absolutely kept Rashford and Bruno on their toes and could easily move ahead of them if he's outperforming them (something many laughed at), and potentially been great on the right or three man midfield as well. He's a brilliant player. I think some people who didn't rate him only really watched him play after lockdown last season when he wasn't playing particularly well, but that was a strange period for everybody.

Davie Moyes said:
He he. Not sure, I'll ask him. I suppose it's not a surprise that my bro likes those two players in that his own playing style is quite similar to both. Technically very good, good dribbling and passing and likes to run games (5 a side of course).
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So what you're saying is that Utd should sign your brother?
 
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Gringo said:
Would have been perfect for Chelsea instead of Havertz.
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He'd be perfect for every team on the planet. He's that good.

KennyBurner said:
Grealish or Sancho??????????
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As I said in the summer whilst everyone was on the Sancho train, Grealish was my dream signing. Paying £80m for him in the summer was a no brainer.

I do find it strange how everyone's changed their opinion on him now. He's been playing at this level for a long time - he's doing nothing different. Even in the championship when he was playing deep (even deeper than McGinn) in a midfield 3 it was obvious he was going to tear the PL up.

He'll tear Europe and the international scene up, too; providing he gets the chance. Southgate needs to stop limiting him to a final 3rd player first and foremost in regards to the international scene. He offers so much when he comes deep and, even with doing that, still provides his threat in said final 3rd. Don't limit him.
 
Yagami said:
He'd be perfect for every team on the planet. He's that good.


As I said in the summer whilst everyone was on the Sancho train, Grealish was my dream signing. Paying £80m for him in the summer was a no brainer.

I do find it strange how everyone's changed their opinion on him now. He's been playing at this level for a long time - he's doing nothing different. Even in the championship when he was playing deep (even deeper than McGinn) in a midfield 3 it was obvious he was going to tear the PL up.

He'll tear Europe and the international scene up, too; providing he gets the chance. Southgate needs to stop limiting him to a final 3rd player first and foremost in regards to the international scene. He offers so much when he comes deep and, even with doing that, still provides his threat in said final 3rd. Don't limit him.
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I agree, he hasn't really changed much. He's been in this kind of form since the 2017/18 season when something seemed to click after coming back from a weird kidney injury.

It's just that people are actually watching him now. Not everybody was keeping up with Villa over the last few years, understandably. Those who were (such as yourself), obviously knew how good he was, so it's been kind of frustrating listening to people (a lot of them pundits paid to know this kind of thing!) downplay his ability due to sheer ignorance.
 
Just maybe we wouldn't have been beaten by Denmark if he had actually been given a chance. Strange really because he looked good in that cameo over there.
 
Him playing good is nothing new, we all knew that in the summer too.

Anyone reckons we'll go for him in January?
 
united_99 said:
6 weeks can be a long time in football!
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It is. Sancho is having the first rough spell of an excellent young career whilst Grealish is in the form of his life after struggling for a number of years.

It's always hype or bust and then the same people slag off the tabloids for catering to this mentality.
 
GledTheRed said:
No competition at the minute, one looks like prime Gazza and the other looks like Lingard.
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Pretty understandable because one is in his 25 means already start hitting his prime while the other one is 20 means still 5 years to go before start hitting his prime
 
Classical Mechanic said:
It is. Sancho is having the first rough spell of an excellent young career whilst Grealish is in the form of his life after struggling for a number of years.

It's always hype or bust and then the same people slag off the tabloids for catering to this mentality.
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Nah, I disagree. Grealish has been playing well for a long enough period now while Sancho is a bit overrated (and definitely not worth 108 mil £.
 
united_99 said:
Nah, I disagree. Grealish has been playing well for a long enough period now while Sancho is a bit overrated (and definitely not worth 108 mil £.
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Sancho's numbers have been crazy since he broke through a couple of years ago. Only Messi, Mbappe and Neymar were outdoing him across Europe's top 5 leagues last season.

Grealish has been playing at an elite level for a couple of months only. He had moments last season and a good season overall but was also pretty poor after the restart. His whole career so far has been marked by inconsistency. Something people should bear in mind before hyping him up to impossible standards.

In contast, Sancho's early career had been marked by an unusual level of excellence and consistency for a player of his age.
 
Honestly cant see any club being able to afford him in this current climate.

Villa tying him down to a new deal was a great piece of business.
 
He is being overrated by some to be honest. I think he is a good player with lots of flair and swagger but who is still quite inconsistent and although he played well in the second half last night he still didn't really create that much. He is definitely a player that England should build a team around but he is still just a good premier league level player. He can still improve though and is probably the best of a pretty mediocre bunch of English midfielders.
 
FrankDrebin said:
Honestly cant see any club being able to afford him in this current climate.

Villa tying him down to a new deal was a great piece of business.
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They had no choice. Clubs would have been in for him plus there was no way he wasn’t going to sign. It’s his boyhood club.
 
balaks said:
He is being overrated by some to be honest. I think he is a good player with lots of flair and swagger but who is still quite inconsistent and although he played well in the second half last night he still didn't really create that much. He is definitely a player that England should build a team around but he is still just a good premier league level player. He can still improve though and is probably the best of a pretty mediocre bunch of English midfielders.
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Don't agree with that to be honest. I cant remember the last time he had a bad game. Seems to be bossing it week in week out
 
Classical Mechanic said:
Sancho's numbers have been crazy since he broke through a couple of years ago. Only Messi, Mbappe and Neymar were outdoing him across Europe's top 5 leagues last season.

Grealish has been playing at an elite level for a couple of months only. He had moments last season and a good season overall but was also pretty poor after the restart. His whole career so far has been marked by inconsistency. Something people should bear in mind before hyping him up to impossible standards.

In contast, Sancho's early career had been marked by an unusual level of excellence and consistency for a player of his age.
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I am sure if Sancho played for Villa and Grealish for Dortmund their stats would be very different.
Anyway I can only comment on the matches I see and based on them Grealish’s performances for Villa have been more impressive. With England he has only confirmed that he can replicate his club form in a different environment and under more pressure.
 
Brilliant if you have no system in place. We've seen this with Payet at West Ham, Mahrez at Leicester & even Zaha at Palace to some extent. Give him total freedom + enough of the ball & they'll wreck havoc.

The question is whether he can fit in a highly functional team?

Villa tried to play him as an 8 in the PL & predictably got slaughtered in transition every single week which led to Dean Smith shifting him out wide where he's been fantastic ever since.

I don't think Lampard, Klopp, Pep & Arteta would want a player like him which gives United a free run at him.

Who do you play out of position to pigeonhole him into the team though? His best position is either LW & #10 where arguably your two best players play.

Personally if I was United, I'd rather spend the 100m+ it would take to pry him away from Villa on a left footed RW & DM to finally give your side some balance.
 
Robindinho said:
I know it’s always easy in hindsight but really don’t know why we didn’t push the boat out and get him instead of wasting time on Sancho.

If we’d have really tried before he signed the extension, would have probably got him for £50-60m. Would have turned out to be a bargain.
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It's pure hindsight as he wasn't near this form last year and Sancho is a wonder kid who was at this level or better last year.
 
Fantastic player, best player on the pitch by a mile against Belgium. Would take us up a level. Great technique and intelligence.
 
balaks said:
He is being overrated by some to be honest. I think he is a good player with lots of flair and swagger but who is still quite inconsistent and although he played well in the second half last night he still didn't really create that much. He is definitely a player that England should build a team around but he is still just a good premier league level player. He can still improve though and is probably the best of a pretty mediocre bunch of English midfielders.
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Gosh, sometimes it’s just too easy to spot who reads the papers and who actually sees more games than the average person. Grealish is highly, highly consistent - that’s one of his biggest strengths. He dictates most games, just like Modric or Kroos used to do, being a different player of course. When he is off, which is a while since I can remember, he is still chipping in.

«Just a good Premier League-level player»..... OK. That’s where I would throw in players like Winks, McGinn and Fred. Grealish is sublime and would fit nicely into every single team in the Premier League right now, also in different positions if said team has a clear favorite on the left side.
 
CulturalAries said:
Brilliant if you have no system in place. We've seen this with Payet at West Ham, Mahrez at Leicester & even Zaha at Palace to some extent. Give him total freedom + enough of the ball & they'll wreck havoc.

The question is whether he can fit in a highly functional team?

Villa tried to play him as an 8 in the PL & predictably got slaughtered in transition every single week which led to Dean Smith shifting him out wide where he's been fantastic ever since.

I don't think Lampard, Klopp, Pep & Arteta would want a player like him which gives United a free run at him.

Who do you play out of position to pigeonhole him into the team though? His best position is either LW & #10 where arguably your two best players play.

Personally if I was United, I'd rather spend the 100m+ it would take to pry him away from Villa on a left footed RW & DM to finally give your side some balance.
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Apart from Arteta who seems to be quite averse to any creativity and seems highly defensive manager , ideally all others would absolutely love to have player of Grealish's ability.
 
I see Grealish is the newly minted darling of English fans. All previous sins are forgiven. Few, if any of us here referencing the previous off field issues regarding signing for United. Who would have thought focusing on the football merits is most important? How fickle football fans can be!
 
As brilliant as he is, would we not be trying to force Grealish and Bruno into the same side? (assuming we even go in for him at some point).
 
Classical Mechanic said:
It is. Sancho is having the first rough spell of an excellent young career whilst Grealish is in the form of his life after struggling for a number of years.

It's always hype or bust and then the same people slag off the tabloids for catering to this mentality.
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villa fans saying he has been incredible for last few years
 
Real Name said:
Him playing good is nothing new, we all knew that in the summer too.

Anyone reckons we'll go for him in January?
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With villa having the start they are having and the fact he is proving to be a exceptional .. I would say no. If he was valued at 80mil by them on the contract he was on before, he’s now 120mil+
As he has Literally just signed a five year deal on very good wages.

people talk about how he is too good for villa, that may be the case.. but they forget that he is a avid villa fan, local to the club, literally idolised around that part of the world and playing on a team that is Breaking wage structures for him and willing to invest and build around him, he has a great life and enjoys his football... you can see that in the way he plays. His family are all around him, it’s a cushty set up for him I’m sure!

He doesn’t have the pressure on him he would have here. Hense why he plays with a massive smile and with freedom.

I reckon he will move at some point but won’t be in a massive rush, let’s see what villa do!
 
Winzaghi said:
I agree, he hasn't really changed much. He's been in this kind of form since the 2017/18 season when something seemed to click after coming back from a weird kidney injury.

It's just that people are actually watching him now. Not everybody was keeping up with Villa over the last few years, understandably. Those who were (such as yourself), obviously knew how good he was, so it's been kind of frustrating listening to people (a lot of them pundits paid to know this kind of thing!) downplay his ability due to sheer ignorance.
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Still hearing that now with claims of inconsistency, which, quite frankly, is absurd.

Not only is he one of the most consistent players in the league - bar a few games post lockdown where it was understandable - he has, like you say, been consistent for years now. The season you point to (17/18) is what confirmed for me that he was going to become one of the best in the country. The following season where, after McGinn came in, he still kept his high level in a position change just confirmed it.

I think some can't see past him spending years in the championship and playing for a relegation threatened team last season on top of that, which is unfortunate. If you keep up your good start to league (with you being joint 1st if you win your game in hand) then that's the only way people will change their minds because they've looked at your clubs struggles in recent seasons and just assumed Jack's been struggling, too, which hasn't been the case.
 
I've wanted Grealish since he was a youngster that wasnt so consistent because of the way he played. I remember clubs being linked to him from a younger age (spurs) and he always wanted to make that move.

Now it's the other way around because he has that consistency at a PL level club who are showing that consistency themselves. He could walk in to many of the top teams in the league right now if it wasnt already covered in players playing his position.
 
Could Grealish be the new a Sancho saga next summer? He’s certainly flirting with those last comments.
 
I didn't watch the game yesterday but is anyone else amazed at how much press Grealish's performance is getting considering England lost 2-0 and are out of the Nations League (I think)?

You would think he was Gareth Bale in the 4-3 loss against Inter the way he's dominated the sports pages.

Was he really that good or is this just a case of overhyping the best performer in a poor loss under a poor system?
 
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