With his mop of floppy brown hair, his snake-hipped style and that penchant for a defence-splitting through ball, anyone casting a glance over Aston Villa’s youth team a couple of years ago would have been forgiven for wondering if Jack Grealish had a younger brother no one knew about.
“It was after I left Aston Villa when I got those comparisons to Jack,” O’Hare, who like Grealish was born a stone’s throw from Villa’s Bodymoor Heath training ground, told Sky Sports in March.
“He’s one of the best players I’ve ever seen play. So to be compared to him is a bit of an honour.
“I can kind of see it because we both play in a similar way and we both get fouled a lot. But we’re obviously two different players and he’s doing his thing now. I’m really happy for him as he really deserves it.”
It’s easy to forget how quickly things changed for Grealish.
Just two years before joining Manchester City in a £100 million deal – making him the most expensive player in the history of the Premier League – he was strutting his stuff in the Championship rather than the Champions League.
From battling Luton to battling Liverpool in the blink of an eye.
After a season of real progression at surprise packages Coventry, few will be surprised if O’Hare is joining Grealish in the top-flight next season.
The new Grealish?
The 23-year-old’s boundless enthusiasm and balletic footwork have made him one of the Championship’s most influential attackers at the Ricoh Arena. He’s starting to add a more ruthless streak to his game too, four of his five goals this term coming since the middle of March.
Norwich City have been linked with a £5 million swoop, much to the bemusement of Coventry CEO Dave Boddy. The Telegraph also claims that Tottenham have scouted the silken playmaker on numerous occasions.
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Spurs, you might remember, missed out on Grealish in the summer of 2018, despite the player’s desire to seal the move. According to Sky, Tottenham offered £25 million – £75 million less than Manchester City would pay a couple of years later.
Signing O’Hare might not make up for missing out on English football’s most expensive-ever footballer. But it may be the next best thing.
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