Former Aston Villa defender John Terry has heaped praise on midfielder Jack Grealish, comparing him to England legend Paul Gascoigne.
During his short stint at the Championship club, the 37-year-old said that he had come across a hidden gem in the attacker, and has claimed that he will become a “big, big player” in the future.
He also added that he hopes his ex-teammate – who made 27 appearances in the second tier last season – finally gets the opportunity to prove himself in the Premier League, and that he understood why a top-six club like Tottenham were interested in tempting him to North London.
“Jack will be a big, big player. I hope Villa can come up and he gets his chance in the Premier League that way. I can see why Spurs wanted him,” the centre-back told the print edition of the Daily Mail [Saturday, 8th September].
“Right now he’s in the right place. I think he will become a top Premier League star and an England international. He reminds me of Gazza, with his balance and his skill, the way he receives the ball and drives at defenders.
“He is looking after himself off the pitch as well. He’s a great lad. He’s an ambitious boy who will go right to the top if he continues to do the right thing.”
OPINION
Terry is right to drool over his former teammate Grealish, as he had a blinder of a season. He helped contribute towards Aston Villa’s promotion bid and their run to the play-off Final in superb fashion, and Terry obviously knows him rather well from his stint at Villa Park. It was widely reported that Tottenham were after him, and it is a shame that Villa did not allow him to leave in the end. He deserves to be playing in the top flight, but there is no guarantee that he will be able to achieve that with Villa. There are other clubs in the Championship who have already made themselves serious contenders to get promoted, so it remains to be seen how they will fare this season with a wider pool of competition. He must have been gutted that he was not able to move to Spurs, but he has the chance to prove to them once again that he is deserving of place in their squad.