Dan Bardell: Jack Grealish will succeed at Manchester City but be back at Aston Villa one day
We’re delighted to welcome The Athletic’s Dan Bardell as our exclusive Aston Villa columnist each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the club…
Jack Grealish will be back at Aston Villa one day but he is too good not to succeed at Manchester City first, according to Dan Bardell.
The former Lions captain spoke on international duty on 21 September [Sky Sports] about how he was more free when starting every game for the club, compared to following Pep Guardiola’s instructions at the Etihad, amid speculation over his future after a return of seven goals and four assists across 45 outings in all competitions since his £100million move.
Such was his importance at Villa Park Bardell doesn’t feel that the club have fully recovered from his exit, but has backed him to succeed at the very top as “hands down” the best Villans player he’s ever seen.
He exclusively told Villa News: “I think he’ll be back at Villa one day but I don’t think it will be in the foreseeable future. I think it will be more like when he’s in his 30s.
“31, 32, I think he’ll come back to Villa Park in a similar vein to how Ashley Young’s come back.
“I think the whole club was just built so heavily around one person that it was just not sustainable. It’s just not.
“We’ve seen how Villa have been since he’s left, and it’s like the club hasn’t fully recovered. They’ve bought a hell of a lot of attacking players in to try and negate the loss of Grealish.
“But you can’t look at any of the players that Villa have brought in to replace him and say, ‘He’s been a success, he’s replaced Jack Grealish.’
“What we were doing with just building the team around one man, it’s killed us really.
“Because we’re not the same now. He was always someone you could just give the ball to and you knew he was a unique, special player, in that you know he would give you something. There’s not many footballers like that on the planet.
“He’s a sensational footballer. People say he’s a rotational option at City. But Phil Foden is, Riyad Mahrez is. It’s no different to any other player.
“Yes, he’d be disappointed with the amount of big games he’s played, like Champions League semi-finals and cup finals and things like that.
“He’s been on the bench which I think would be disappointing for him, and I know how much he hates being a sub, but he’s too good a player for it not to work for him at Manchester City.
“You’ve seen over the years there’s been a number of players who’ve taken time to get used to Pep. At some point I think Grealish will absolutely fly for City because he’s such a good footballer.
“He’s the best player I’ve ever seen play for Villa and I’ve been watching Villa for a long time and seen some very good players.
“Jack Grealish is hands down the best footballer I’ve seen play for Aston Villa, and I think he’s the only player I’ve seen who you would potentially label as being world class. I don’t think Villa have had another world class player in my time.
“I think the goals and the assists will come for Grealish. He’s following instructions. People say he’s not playing the same way as he did at Villa but he’s doing what he’s told to do. You did see him have a little bit of freedom against Wolves [17 September].
“I just love watching him. I wish him every success, he did a lot for Villa. I know his family quite well, I know how much they care about the club, I know how much Jack cared about Villa. I wish him every success in his career and I completely understand why he wanted to go and test himself at the highest level.”
Painful as it always is to lose a local hero it was surely necessary in the long run for Villa to break free from an over-reliance on a talisman like Grealish.
That he netted a British record fee helped soften the blow, but despite considerable turnover in the months since this is still not a settled club with a certain outlook.
It is a shame to see a natural talent like the 27-year-old appear not be hitting the heights in a strict system for the champions, but he still has time to do so, and if he returns to his boyhood club with a few more winners medals under his belt in a few years’ time there won’t be too many fans who begrudge him the detour.
In other Aston Villa news, Christian Purslow is continuing to back manager Steven Gerrard.