Speaking to BBC Sport, Garth Crooks has heaped praise on Jack Grealish by labelling the Aston Villa man as ‘sensational’ for his goal against Brighton over the weekend.
The BBC Sport pundit claimed that he prefers the Villa playmaker over Leicester City’s James Maddison and Tottenham’s Dele Alli ‘every time’.
It has been a tough few weeks for Villa, but one man has stood up in Grealish and he did so once again as Dean Smith’s side recorded a 1-1 draw at Brighton.
(Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images)
Nonetheless, former Tottenham striker, Crooks, was full of praise for Grealish and his goal at the Amex Stadium, as he also sent a message to England boss, Gareth Southgate.
“The ball from Douglas Luiz was superb but the finish by Jack Grealish was sensational,” Crooks told BBC Sport.“Grealish missed a glorious chance for Aston Villa earlier in the game only to see Brighton charge upfield and score almost immediately which wouldn’t have thrilled him.
“What I want to know is when is Grealish going to be spoken about in international terms? Between Dele Alli, James Maddison and Grealish I’m having Grealish every time.
“Come on Gareth Southgate – start giving this lad some encouragement and the occasional mention in the press.”
(Photo by Neville Williams/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images)
It’s a case of when and not if Grealish earns his maiden England call. His form during these past few months has been pretty remarkable and that for a side struggling down the bottom.
And when that does happen then he may well be competing with the likes of Alli and Maddison for starting spots. All three are different players in their own right, but either way, the competition for the attacking spots in Southgate’s squad is well and truly hotting up.
The most obvious improvement in Grealish’s game since Villa’s promotion to the Premier League has been his end product in the final third.
Grealish has always had a quality pass wherever he is on the field of play, but he lacked those goals and now they are flooding in.
Smith’s decision to move him further up the field has helped, but other players need to step up and be counted if Villa are to stay up because Grealish is doing it all on his own, at the minute.