Former Aston Villa striker, Darren Bent has suggested that Jack Grealish always showed how good he was, even early on in training for the club.
Darren Bent became the record signing for Aston Villa when he joined the club in 2011, under the late Gerard Houllier.
Over ten years later, things are very different in B6, to say the least. Since Bent’s signing the club have fallen down the Premier League and got relegated. Then spent three seasons in the Championship before getting promoted. Five seasons back in the Premier League and now under Unai Emery, the Villans are punching at the top.
The Englishman was a hit in his first half-season but under Paul Lambert, and with the signing of Christian Benteke, Bent fell down the pecking order. Nowadays he features as a pundit and a regular contributor on TalkSport.
What has Darren Bent said about Jack Grealish?
It is safe to say that, Jack Grealish had a much more favourable time with Aston Villa than the striker. Working his way through the ranks, becoming a star and then being sold for an English record, at the time.
Going back to the beginning, Grealish made his debut for the Villans away at Manchester City. The Villans lost 4-0 but the boyhood Villa fan replaced Ryan Bertrand late on.
With him coming on at such a young age, 18-years old, he was certainly highly rated by the hierarchy.
Speaking on TalkSport, Bent has suggested he was always talented: “Even as a young kid, he was unbelievable. You could see straight away. I was in his very first training session at Villa and he was quite quiet, but still had the shinpads down to his ankles. Unbelievable.”
The now iconic look has followed Grealish throughout his career and added to the uniqueness of the forward.
He had many starring moments at Aston Villa from his St Andrews goal to the West Ham survival goal and even to five-goal involvements against Liverpool.
Following his performances under Dean Smith’s management, the lad from Solihull moved to Manchester City for £100m.
It is safe to say that he was a success at Villa Park and was sorely missed by Villa fans. Bent could see his potential and his original thoughts on the star were spot on.
Right now he doesn’t seem to be at the top of his game and hopefully, he can be back to his best soon.
