Jack Grealish reveals the reason he wears his socks like a GAA player

Hours after his first Premier League start, Jack Grealish addressed the elephant in the room.

The 19-year-old attacking midfielder played 69 minutes of his side's 3-3 draw with QPR, on Tuesday, and impressed his Aston Villa coach, Tim Sherwood. Grealish was interviewed by BBC Radio after the match and answered the question all Irish football fans wanted to know - 'Why do you wear your socks so low?'

'It's a superstition,' he opined, 'that I've done all my life and I'm going to keep it that way.'

In order to keep up with this childhood fashion trait, Grealish opts to wear junior-sized shinpads.

'A few referees have tried telling me [not to] but I've got to keep it like that. I haven't had a kick on my shin yet and hopefully not any time soon.'

Sock issues finally put to bed, the Ireland underage international, who has yet to declare his senior intentions, spoke about his first season as a Premier League semi-regular.

'It was a bit of a tough game to get my first start, in a big relegation scrap, but I'm pleased even if I'm not happy about how the game ended up.

'I try and see it as any other football match but it's nice that the gaffer has got that faith in me and hopefully I can try to get a few more starts before the end of the season. He said I deserve my start which is nice to hear and it really gives me a bit of a boost.'