Jamie Redknapp hailed Jack Grealish as the outstanding player outside of the Premier League following his wondrous weekend volley for Aston Villa.
Writing for the Daily Mail, the pundit and former England midfielder hailed Grealish’s ability after his stunner helped lead the Midlands giants to a 4-0 hammering of Derby County on Saturday.
He insisted Villa would be in the top six had the attacking midfielder not missed nearly three months with a shin injury.
“There have been some brilliant volleys this season but the best two have both come at Villa Park,” Redknapp told the the Mail. “If you enjoyed John McGinn’s strike against Sheffield Wednesday in September, you will love Jack Grealish’s volley following a corner against Derby on Saturday.
“Had Grealish been fit for the whole season, I am in no doubt Villa would be in the play-offs. He is the best player outside the Premier League.”
OPINION
Villa’s sensational weekend display, inspired by the brilliance of Grealish on his comeback, lifted them to within six points of the final play-off spot and suggested Dean Smith’s hot-and-cold side could yet gatecrash the top six in the final two months of the campaign. How Villa have missed the ball-carrying ability and inventiveness of their academy product, who has magic in his boots and the talent to pull of tricks that most players wouldn’t even dare contemplate. His haul of three goals and four assists from 22 league matches this season hardly does justice to his immense quality, and criticism that he doesn’t deliver the goods quite as often as he should is not necessarily unfair. In terms of raw talent, there is none better in the Championship than Grealish, and it’s hard to dispute Redknapp’s assertion where Villa could be had he not been out since early December with a shin injury.