Jack Grealish has had a fantastic season so far.
The 24-year-old has scored six goals and provided five assists in 20 matches for Aston Villa. Although that has not been enough to keep the Villans out of the relegation zone, the Midlands outfit’s difficulties have been nothing to do with his own performances.
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Such has been the quality of his displays, numerous pundits have said that he would get into Liverpool’s side. Former Sky Sports pundit – and now beIN Sport expert – Andy Gray has even said that he is better than any of Liverpool’s midfielders and would improve the team.
That seems to be a big call considering Liverpool are currently 14 points clear at the top of the Premier League with a game in hand, but what do our writers think about Gray’s comments? We ask four of them for their verdicts.
Charles Jones
“I don’t think Jack Grealish would get into Liverpool’s starting XI. Where does he fit in? He’s not hard-working enough to replace any of their midfielders and he’s certainly not good enough to play on that left-wing ahead of Sadio Mane. Strangely, I think his best position in Liverpool’s squad could be in Roberto Firmino’s false nine role, but even then I don’t think he’d be as good as the Brazillian. Is he a talented player? Undoubtedly, but Liverpool are the world champions and it takes an incredibly special player to get into Jurgen Klopp’s side. Grealish is supremely skilled, but you need more than that to get into the starting XI of the Premier League’s best side.”
Lewis Blain
“Andy Gray may believe Jack Grealish would walk into Liverpool’s team, but that sort of sweeping statement is a tad sensationalist. There’s no denying that the 24-year-old holds undoubted talent that is destined for the Premier League’s elite. He’s scored six goals and provided five assists, topping the charts for Villa in both categories – per WhoScored. Without him this season, their season would probably already be over. However, there’s no chance he arrives at the Kop and takes over from Sadio Mane, Mo Salah or any of their central midfield options. The same probably goes for Manchester City. The rest of the top six? No issues.”
Domagoj Kostanjsak
“Jack Grealish is a top prospect and could very well go on to play for any of the other top teams in England. However, Gray’s statement just doesn’t make much sense to me. Liverpool have a packed squad that any player would genuinely struggle to get into and for all of Grealish’s obvious qualities, a similar fate would likely befall him too. Is he a top player? Absolutely looks like it. Would he walk right into their team? Highly unlikely. In my opinion, Gray has this backwards.”
Billy Meyers
“I don’t think many players in world football walk into this Liverpool team – even players like Fabinho and Andy Robertson were slowly eased in by Jurgen Klopp upon their arrivals at Anfield. In Grealish’s case, he certainly has an abundance of talent and any manager in the Premier League would presumably like to have the Aston Villa captain at their disposal. However, it really is a case of quality over quantity at Liverpool right now given their dominance domestically and across Europe, and as aforesaid, few players walk into this side. The midfield areas are also the most stocked right now, as Klopp has Gini Wijnaldum, Adam Lallana, James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita, Jordan Henderson and Fabinho to choose from, along with rising star Curtis Jones. Grealish may well be good enough to get into Liverpool’s side in a few years to come, although as things stand, Gray is perhaps jumping the gun with his verdict on the Villa captain’s suitability to the World and European champions.”
In other news, this 22-year-old is as good as Sadio Mane at his peak.