Speaking recently on The Athletic’s Headline podcast, Gregg Evans discussed the news that Jack Grealish has signed a new deal with Aston Villa.
Making his Aston Villa debut as an 18-year-old back in 2014, Grealish has gone on to make 188 appearances for the club, scoring 26 goals and providing 31 assists along the way.
Last term, the winger proved influential in keeping Villa in the Premier League, scoring the club’s goal in a 1-1 draw with West Ham on the final day of the season which secured the club’s survival.
In addition to this, the 25-year-old averaged a WhoScored match rating of 7.23/10 over his 36 Premier League appearances, ranking him as the club’s standout performer in the league by a considerable margin.
These performances for Villa caught the eye of the Manchester clubs, with both Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Pep Guardiola said to be keen on the England international over the summer.
However, Grealish recently ended all the speculation surrounding his future by signing a new five-year deal with the Birmingham-based side, something which Evans, speaking on the Headline podcast, described as a ‘huge boost’ for the club.
He said: “First of all, [it’s a] very, very exciting day for Aston Villa. [Having] Jack Grealish for another five years at the club is something that not all of us were expecting, to be honest.
“Over the course of the summer, there have obviously been links to other clubs with Jack Grealish – Manchester United and Manchester City were both interested – but Jack Grealish has decided to pledge his future to Aston Villa, and that’s a huge boost for the club.
“[It’s] a real statement of intent, as well, and just shows how ambitious Aston Villa are and that we can all start to get excited about the future.”
TIF Thoughts…
From Evans’ comments, it is clear how important the journalist believes Villa tying their star man down to a new deal is, and after looking at his statistics from last season, it is not difficult to see why.
Whether Grealish will indeed stay for the whole duration of his new five-year deal remains to be seen, as if the £36 million-rated man has another fine year this time around, a club may well take a punt on him next summer.
Can you see Grealish seeing out his new five-year deal at Villa?
Yes, he'll stay for the whole five years
No, he'll probably leave in the next few years
Although, that is unlikely to bother Villa fans at present, who must be delighted that their captain has committed his future to their cause.