Aston Villa podcaster Andy Bates has been sharing his thoughts on Villa captain Jack Grealish and his form in the Premier League for the club.
This comes after Bates recently made an appearance on Villa-themed podcast Gather ‘Round The Lamp where he spoke about a number of topics concerning Dean Smith’s side.
On the subject of Grealish and his form in the Premier League so far this season, Bates had this to say on the matter.
He said: “I actually doubted whether he would be at this level in the Premier League. I thought he would be a very, very good Premier League player, but I don’t see a better player in the Premier League at the moment – and that might seem like a bold claim.
“He’s certainly the most in-form player, but I just don’t see a better player than him at the moment anywhere in the Premier League and his numbers are stacking up as well to support that.”
Grealish made his debut in Villa’s senior side back in 2014 when the Englishman was just 18 years old.
Overall, the Englishman who is currently valued at £40.5 million, has made a total of 195 appearances for the Birmingham club in which he has scored 30 goals and provided 37 assists.
Last season, Grealish was Villa’s standout performer in the Premier League with WhoScored giving him a season rating of 7.23/10 for his performances in the 36 league games he played in.
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TIF Thoughts on Andy Bates’ comments on Grealish…
Given that Grealish was Villa’s best player last season and that he is currently Villa’s highest-rated for this season too, it’s no surprise that Bates has made this claim on the 25-year-old.
In terms of overall Premier League players this season, only Harry Kane has a higher season rating than Grealish, with the striker having played one more game than Grealish (per WhoScored).
In our view, on current form, Grealish deserves to be considered as one of the Premier League’s best players and hopefully, his good form for Villa continues throughout the rest of the season.