Bruce wants Grealish to copy the career progression of the current Liverpool captain.
Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce has called upon Jack Grealish to prove that he has what it takes to fulfill his potential by emulating Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson, as quoted by the Villa website.
Grealish has been something of an enigma thus far throughout his short career at his boyhood club.
He clearly has bags of talent to display on the pitch, but he has been plagued with controversy over his off-field life, including fines, suspensions, and criticism from all angles in the media.
Most recently, he missed the last three games including Villa’s first league derby clash with arch-rivals Birmingham City in nearly six years after being handed a three-game ban for stamping on Wolves’ Conor Coady last month.
Much has been made of the need for Grealish to settle down and focus on letting his football do the talking, with club owner Tony Xia urging him not to let his teammates and club down after another off-field indiscretion in September.
Now, with the winger set to return from suspension to feature for the hosts against Blackburn Rovers at Villa Park on Saturday, Bruce has suggested that Grealish should be looking to model himself on Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson, whom the manager coached at Sunderland during the midfielder’s early years.
Bruce said, as quoted on the Villa website: “Everyone can see the potential the young fella has got [but] we’ve all seen the other side where lots of players have not really fulfilled their potential which their ability possesses. Certainly he’s done everything we’ve asked him.
“The rest is up to him. He’s 21 years old but he can’t do what other people of that age can do. He’s got to make sacrifices. Jack’s still got a long way to go. He’s still only young. There aren’t many born with the talent he’s got. I want him to copy Jordan Henderson. I gave him his debut at 18.
“He was a young kid at Sunderland who I’ve watched captain Sunderland, move to Liverpool and had a tough start there, but has now captained Liverpool and England. If he follows him, I’ll be delighted because he has fulfilled his potential and wants to be and always wanted to be the top player which he’s turned himself into.”
Grealish has scored twice in 11 appearances for Villa this season but has featured just twice since the end of September, and will be desperate to make up for lost time after his suspension.
Whether or not he is thrown straight back into the starting XI on Saturday is questionable, but his chances of starting are surely boosted by Jordan Ayew’s absence through his own suspension picked up after a fifth yellow card of the season last weekend.
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