Jack Grealish

Aston Villa

Early career

Having started at Highgate United, Aston Villa fan Grealish joined the club as a six-year-old. At the age of 16, he was named as an unused substitute in a 4–2 home Premier League defeat against Chelsea on 31 March 2012. Grealish was part of the club's under-19 team that won the 2012–13 NextGen Series.

2013–2014: Loan to Notts County

On 13 September 2013, Grealish joined League One club Notts County on a youth loan until 13 January 2014. The 18-year-old made his professional debut the following day, coming on as a 59th-minute substitute for David Bell in a 3–1 away defeat to Milton Keynes Dons. On 7 December, he scored his first career goal, beating three defenders to score the last goal in a 3–1 win over Gillingham at Meadow Lane, and followed this a week later by opening a 4–0 victory at Colchester United. Grealish extended his loan with Notts County on 17 January 2014 until the end of the season. He ended his loan with five goals and seven assists in 38 appearances.

2014–2016: Development and maturation

Following his loan with Notts County, Grealish returned to Aston Villa and made his club debut on 7 May 2014, coming on as an 88th-minute substitute for Ryan Bertrand in a 4–0 away defeat to Manchester City in the Premier League. Grealish made his first start in a Football League Cup third round tie on 27 August against Leyton Orient at Villa Park, which his team lost 1–0. He played the full 90 minutes.…

Republic of Ireland

While playing in Irish youth teams, England were known to have been pursuing him, even naming him in their under-17 team in 2011 at the age of 15 – an invitation he declined. After being left off the Republic of Ireland under-21 team for three qualifiers in October 2012, the English FA made an approach for him to switch. Grealish made his under-21 debut for the Republic of Ireland as a late substitute against the Faroe Islands in August 2013. In 2013, Grealish reaffirmed his desire to continue representing Ireland. In August 2014, Grealish was again named to the Republic of Ireland under-21 squad. It was initially reported that he would decline the call up to the under-21s due to being undecided over his international future, however Grealish did turn out for the Republic of Ireland in a 2–0 loss against Germany. It later emerged that Grealish had actually declined a call-up to the senior Irish team after talks with Martin O'Neill. In October 2014, Grealish pulled out of a Republic of Ireland under-21 squad for a game against Norway to play in a behind closed doors friendly for his club Aston Villa and England under-21 manager Gareth Southgate confirmed that the Football Association were monitoring the player's situation. Reports emerged on 17 October that Grealish had declared for Ireland and would make his senior debut the next month but this was denied by the player. Grealish was awarded the Under-21 player of the year by the Football…

Анализ

Технически одаренный игрок, Грилиш играет на фланге (обычно на левом фланге, что позволяет ему смещаться внутрь на свою сильную правую ногу) или в роли атакующего полузащитника и был отмечен за свою способность бегать и дриблинговать мимо защитников. Брайан Джонс, бывший директор академии Астон Виллы, сравнил его стиль игры со стилем вингера Ноттингем Форест Джона Робертсона, отметив его "умение просто проходить мимо людей". Во время своего пребывания в Манчестер Сити он иногда также использовался в центральной атакующей роли как ложная девятка под руководством тренера Пепа Гвардиолы. Пишущий для The Athletic в 2019 году спортивный журналист Майкл Кокс описал Грилиша как "игрока старой школы" из-за его стиля игры. Грилиш также был похвален за свою профессиональность теми, кто им управлял, причем Дин Смит назвал его "действительно хорошим профессионалом", а Пеп Гвардиола в 2023 году прокомментировал, что он был "впечатлен тем, насколько профессионален" он был. Несмотря на отсутствие исключительной скорости, он является ловким игроком, обладающим быстрыми ногами, хорошей сменой темпа и отличным балансом на мяче, что является результатом его низкого центра тяжести. В результате его ловкого движения Грилиш заметно стал объектом более тяжелых, физических атак со стороны соперников. Шон Дерри, его тренер в Ноттс Каунти, подчеркнул это после матчей против Шеффилд Юнайтед и Стивениджа в начале 2014 года и призвал к большей официальной защите. В матче 2014 года для…

Jack Peter Grealish was born on 10 September 1995 in Birmingham, West Midlands, and raised in nearby Solihull. He attended Our Lady of Compassion Roman Catholic Primary School and St Peter's Roman Catholic Secondary School in Blossomfield, Solihull. Grealish is of Irish descent, through his maternal grandfather from County Dublin, his paternal grandfather from Gort, County Galway, and his paternal grandmother from Sneem, County Kerry. Influenced by his Irish heritage, Grealish played Gaelic football for John Mitchel's Hurling and Camogie Club of Warwickshire GAA between the ages of 10 and 14. He competed against former Aston Villa and current Newcastle United defender Aoife Mannion, a school classmate of his, at Gaelic football. Grealish's younger brother, Keelan, died of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in April 2000 at the age of nine months.