Speaking recently on the 1874 Aston Villa podcast, Gregg Evans discussed Villa midfielder Jack Grealish and the possibility of Villa keeping the midfielder this summer.
Making his debut for Aston Villa as an 18-year-old in an EFL Cup tie back in 2014, Grealish has gone on to become Villa’s star man, featuring 187 times for the club, scoring 25 goals and providing 31 assists along the way.
Last season, the Villa captain scored eight goals – including the club’s goal in the 1-1 draw with West Ham that effectively secured their survival – and provided six assists, averaging a WhoScored match rating of 7.23/10 – ranking him as Villa’s best performer, as well as the 20th-best player in the top-flight (min. 20 apps), despite his side finishing in 17th place.
Evans stated his belief that Villa need to do all they can to keep hold of the 24-year-old this summer.
He said: “The key is keeping Grealish. You’ve got to have Grealish in that team. If Jack Grealish leaves, for me, it’s a complete rebuild again, because I don’t personally think that Villa will be able to sign anybody that can replace him. I just don’t see who they could buy for the money to replace him, so losing him would be a massive backward step for Villa.
“We’re still waiting for a club to come in for him to actually firm up their interest with a formal offer. And unless they meet the valuation that Villa have of him, which is around £80 million, Villa aren’t even going to consider selling him. It might even get to the stage where they say: ‘We’re not going to sell him.'”
TIF Thoughts…
It is certainly evident that Evans believes Grealish to be an integral part of the Villa side, and after looking at his statistics from this season, it is not hard to see why.
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Evans also goes on to suggest that unless someone matches the club’s supposed £80 million valuation of the £36 million-rated midfielder, then he will be going nowhere this summer – which, as a Villa fan, must be music to your ears.