Simon Jordan heaped praise on Aston Villa midfielder Jack Grealish and credited Steve Bruce with the player improving in recent seasons.
The former Crystal Palace chairman claimed that former Villa boss Bruce had made a notable impact on Grealish as he had screwed the player’s head back on when he was thought to be getting himself in to trouble outside of football.
Jordan revealed he thought Grealish had matured and that he had bags and bags of ability which could see him play a key part in the Championship play-off final against Derby County on Monday.
“This is a player who has a huge amount of talent in his locker, I think he has changed his thinking, I think from the player who was reported in the press two or three years ago of getting himself in trouble outside of football, I think he has matured,” said Jordan on talkSPORT (18:37, Friday May 24th).
“I think he has got bags and bags of ability, I’d like to see him get a bit further up the pitch and be more dangerous in the last third of the pitch, but he never seems to waste the ball, he has got a key pass in him.
“I think Steve Bruce despite people’s criticism of him at Villa, got Grealish’s head back on, I think he is a Villa player who wants to be a Villa player at this moment in time, and he stayed there last year when possibly he was key to their financial problems, the sale of him.
“And he didn’t throw his toys out of the pram when he didn’t get the move to Tottenham that was mooted, and I think he will play a key part in this game.”
OPINION
Jordan is clearly a member of Grealish’s fan club now but that wasn’t always the case. The former Palace chairman previously went on talkSPORT and claimed that the Villans 23-year-old was a troublesome player who was no good ahead of Bruce becoming manager of the club.While Grealish was linked to some off-field troubles in his younger days, there was never a time where he could be deemed no good. The attacking midfielder has always looked like a capable player and it’s nice to see him proving all of his critics wrong. Grealish has wowed in his 2018/19 campaign, especially since returning from injury, and there surely isn’t many people left who don’t rate him. The midfielder has been involved in 14 goals this season in 34 outings, scoring six while assisting eight, and is capable of stealing the headlines on Monday against Derby. While Jordan wants Grealish to get forward more, it’s not like he is afraid to bare down on an opponent’s goal.