Grealish explains how Aston Villa captain Terry has helped him grow up

Follow us on Google Discover

Jack Grealish on staying out of trouble and the influence Aston Villa captain John Terry has had on him.

Earlier in his career there were fears that Jack Grealish’s could implode before it had even really got started as the Aston Villa midfielder hit the headlines for the wrong reasons.

Yet after missing the first three months of this season with a bizarre kidney injury suffered in pre-season, Grealish has stepped up and is finally starting to realise his potential on the pitch.

The 22-year-old has played 20 games in all competitions to help Villa to their current position of fourth in the Championship table and seems to have put those misdemeanors behind him.

“Stuff happened in the past and you just have to choose the right moments to go out,” Grealish told the Telegraph.

“When you break through there’s a lot of people clinging on and looking for a free night out. You realise who your friends are, some of them are there just to get you into trouble. I was talking to (former Villa player) Lee Hendrie about it recently.

“It’s too much hassle to go out now, anyway. I never want to let anyone down, especially my family.”

Grealish clearly has support away from football, but at the club where he came through the ranks there is now one player who he can really look up to.

John Terry was signed from Chelsea last summer and immediately made captain by manager Steve Bruce and the way the former England Under-21 international talks about the defender, it’s easy to see why.

“For a young player like me, John Terry is the perfect role model,” Grealish continued. “I couldn’t believe it when I heard we were signing him. Sometimes when you see players who have won so much you think they will be a certain way, but JT has been so down to earth and taken me under his wing.

“We talk a lot after training, I’ll ask him stupid questions like who the best player he’s ever faced is. I just want to know. Every day he’s the one here until 4pm, making sure his recovery his right, going in the pool and the ice bath, getting his massages to make sure he’s fully ready for the next day. I’ve never played with anyone as professional as him before.”