Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish could have a big part to play this season.
Newly-appointed Aston Villa boss Steve Bruce says he is looking forward to working with midfielder Jack Grealish following his recent arrival at Villa Park, The Sun reports.
Villa were widely regarded as one of the favourites for promotion this season yet a run of just one win in their opening 11 Championship matches saw Roberto Di Matteo sacked by the club’s owners.
The Italian only took charge of Villa in the summer, therefore pressure was on owner Dr. Tony Xia to make the right call this time around and he opted for former Hull City manager Bruce.
The former defender knows how to navigate his way out of the Championship having done so on four occasions, and at Villa he certainly has the tools at his disposal to mount another promotion charge.
Talking to reporters, Bruce singled out tricky midfielder Grealish as a talented Villa player he is excited to work with and admits he is hopeful of steering the player in the right direction.
“I’m looking forward to working with him and hopefully steering him in the right direction. If I can bring the best out of him then we’ve got a player. He’s certainly got potential and from what I’ve seen he’s a good footballer,” Bruce said of Grealish, quoted by The Sun.
“Jack’s just starred for England and he’s only 21 so he’s hopefully got a really bright future. But he’s got to learn very quickly how to deal with the fame that he’s afforded with the ability he’s got.”
Grealish is without doubt one of the most talented players in the Championship, yet his off-field antics have dominated headlines for the past 12 months or so and he now needs to knuckle down.
The England under-21 international has just two goals to his name this season in ten Championship games, and Bruce will be hoping to see an improvement on that in the coming months.
Villa’s first match under Bruce’s tenure ended in a 1-1 home draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers this weekend.
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