Jack Grealish was finally thrust onto centre stage for England last night.
After over a season of impressive performances in the Premier League, it was overdue for the Aston Villa captain.
He was set free in the number ten role in a 3-4-1-2 system and ran the show as England ran out 3-0 winners over Wales.
Grealish set up Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s opening goal and drew praise from Villa team-mate Ahmed Elmohamady on Twitter.
Conor Coady and Danny Ings rounded off the win but it was Grealish’s performance which caught the eye.
Southgate is toying with a return to the three-man backline which served him so well at World Cup 2018 but lost its way since.
The big challenge for the Three Lions boss is how to use that system to get greater defensive stability while also getting the right amount of creativity from open play in there.
Grealish is capable of providing that, and England don’t have a central playmaker who has established themselves in that role.
Grealish has the chance to go on and establish himself in Southgate’s plans now.
The next test for him will come if he gets a start in a competitive Nations League match, with Belgium lying in wait on Sunday.
After taking the reigning champions apart last weekend when Villa beat Liverpool 7-2, nothing should faze Grealish now.
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