One of the standout performers for me during Aston Villa’s semi-final victory over Liverpool was a certain Jack Grealish.
Technically, he looks a tremendous player. He doesn’t give the ball away, he’s got buckets of energy and he can pick a pass. I really liked him.
What really impressed me about Grealish was the way he put himself into areas that were difficult to pick up.
I looked at two players on Sunday who play very similar games and were likely given the same brief by their managers before the game in Jack Grealish and Philippe Coutinho. And to be honest, I thought Grealish did his job miles better than Coutinho did his.
Grealish made it work for the 80 minutes he was on the pitch and really put his mark on that game. He will be proud of that performance.
Whether or not he decides to declare for Ireland, that’s obviously going to be up to him to decide, to figure out where his loyalties lie.
From a football perspective, you have to look at the England team and say ‘would Grealish start in that XI?’ and I think he probably wouldn’t.
Roy Hodgson has got some excellent young players and is putting a really solid squad together which Grealish might be a part of but is he going to play? Maybe not.
It comes down to the personal preferences of the player and decide how loyal he feels to Ireland or how loyal he feels to England. We’ll have to wait and see.
