Jack Grealish is set for his first England start tonight, according to the Telegraph.
Gareth Southgate’s side host Wales in a friendly, the first of three matches in the current international break.
The Aston Villa captain has started the season well, most notably in the 7-2 thumping of Liverpool on Sunday night.
He looks all set to be rewarded with a start, but Southgate has also warned that Grealish will find it harder with England than at Villa.
“For a player like Jack to flourish… people have got to recognise the moments to be able to give him the ball, the areas of the pitch to be able to give him the ball, the runs to make for him to be able to provide the passes.
“That’s going to be harder to have an immediate impact for him than it would be with his club, where he’s playing with those players all the time.
“We recognise that and I don’t want to put huge pressure on him because this is the second camp he has had with us. He got a feel of how we work in the last camp and we got him on to the pitch.
“I don’t want to put additional pressure on him. I want him to go and enjoy his football, do what he does with his club and that, I’m sure, will add to the performance of the team.”
Many Villa fans weren’t impressed that it has taken Grealish so long to get England recognition, and the inclusion of Kalvin Phillips before he had even played a Premier League game didn’t help that.
The fact of the matter is that on the left wing, Grealish is behind Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Raheem Sterling in the England pecking order. Comparisons with Phillips or anyone else are largely irrelevant.
Sancho and Sterling can’t play tonight, so Grealish is getting a chance – it’s that simple.
Hopefully Grealish will get regular international recognition ahead of the European Championship and the tiresome discussions around his repeated exclusions will be over.
Impressing tonight would be a significant step in the right direction.
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