Aston Villa

Abraham hails Grealish impact

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Image for Abraham hails Grealish impact

On-loan Aston Villa striker Tammy Abraham has said that teammate and captain Jack Grealish is a “fantastic” leader within the dressing room.

Grealish was one of the standout performers for the Villans in Saturday’s 2-1 play-off defeat of West Brom, with the Englishman winning the penalty that Abraham duly converted to send the hosts in front.

Speaking to Sky Sports News, Abraham hailed his club compatriot’s belief and ability to influence a game.

“He is a fantastic player and you don’t question why he is a leader,” the 21-year-old said. “His ability says it all. He is a such a good leader as well. For us it is a massive bonus to have someone like Jack in the team. I don’t think he ever runs out of breath – he keeps going.

“I always think to myself, does he ever get tired? Someone like him gets the ball and he keeps going and keeps going.

“He always believes and tries to encourage everyone – even until the last minute. It is always nice to have that behind you. Even though we had a tough spell in the middle of the season, Jack said ‘wait until I get back fit, we will be on the up again’.”

OPINION

Abraham is spot on about Jack Grealish; he is the main man in this Villa team. Overall, the Englishman has scored six goals and assisted six others in 31 Championship appearances, but it is the second half of the season – the period after an injury which kept him out for 12 games – in which he has really shone. After coming back from a shinbone injury in the 4-0 win over Derby at the start of March, Grealish has scored four goals and laid on two for his teammates in 10 games. You do wonder where Villa could have ended up had the midfielder not been injured for over two months. One thing is for sure; he would be a massive loss to Dean Smith’s side if he was to leave this summer. Tottenham are supposedly in for the midfielder, but thankfully for Villa it looks as if they will have the upper hand in the battle to keep him if they get promoted via the play-offs, since Grealish will then become a major part of the club’s first season back in the Premier League. But for now, there is no doubting that Grealish can lead Villa to Wembley success. From there, who knows at this stage.

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