da marjack bet： Jack Grealish has, without a shadow of a doubt, been Aston Villa’s star player this season.
da heads bet： Before their Premier League match against Leicester City on Monday, the 24-year-old had scored seven goals and provided six assists in the top flight, despite the Villans struggling at the wrong end of the table in 19th position. Without it, it is hard to imagine where they would be.
There has been plenty of speculation surrounding his future, with Manchester United said to be amongst the sides interested in his signature, whilst there has been plenty of praise for him as well.
However, it hasn’t all been good news for the former England U21 international. Recently, Graeme Souness has suggested that Grealish touches the ball too much.
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He explained in The Times whilst talking about who could be called up to England’s Euro 2020 squad: “Jack Grealish is another contender, although I’d like him to have fewer touches of the ball and learn to move it more quickly. Ask any striker what he wants from his midfielders and it will be two-touch, to get the ball to them as early and economically as possible in the final third.”
Grealish does take a lot of touches, of that there is no doubt. He has averaged 66 per game this term – that is at least 300 more than any other member of the Aston Villa squad. However, that is less than other players who play in similar positions at other clubs. For example, James Maddison has averaged over 70 per match, whilst City’s Kevin de Bruyne has touched the ball 81.4 times per match.
The main difference between those sides and Villa is that they are in the top four for average possession per match.
Yes, that does illustrate itself in terms of league position – the Foxes and the Citizens are both in the top four there as well – but Brighton, in 15th place, have averaged over 54% themselves, whilst Norwich have over 50%. Villa, it seems, do not play to Grealish’s strengths enough, which is why his ball retention may stand out – they have only managed 47.3% possession as a unit.
Whether or not the Villa Park outfit go down this season, Grealish has the qualities to be a Premier League player next term. If he does seek pastures new, it is important he finds a system where he fits in.
Meanwhile, Gregg Evans discusses Louie Barry’s first-team chances.