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Gray: Grealish would walk into the Liverpool midfield 


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Andy Gray believes that Jack Grealish would instantly become Liverpool’s best midfielder if he was to join the club in the summer.

The Aston Villa star regularly had been linked with big money moves over the past couple of seasons, but there was a big query on whether he had the commitment to take his game to another level. 

Undeniably blessed with a great deal of footballing talent, it was the off-field professionalism of Grealish which was regularly called into question by many associated with the club.

But to his credit, he has knuckled down with the responsibility of captain given to him by manager Dean Smith and the boyhood Villa fan played a key role in gaining their re-entry into the Premier League, and has been a critical figure in this year’s campaign.

Former Villa star Gray speaking on Bein Sports says it won’t be long before the midfielder has a big decision to make.

The Mirror reported Gray as saying:

“I know he's a Villa fan, his family are all Villa fans, he loves the club and he loves being captain.

“But Jack's 24 now and I think there is a decision coming at the end of this season. And I hate to say it, but I don't think he'll be there in August.

When identifying where the 24 year-old could go next, Gray was unequivocal in the role that he can play for Liverpool, rating him considerably higher than some members of the current midfield set-up.

"If I was a coach of any of the top-six, and I include Liverpool in this, he would make the team better.

"He is, in my opinion, better than any of Liverpool's midfield players. 

"I think he is better than Keita. I think he's better than Wijnaldum.

“When you give someone a football. You watch somebody on a football pitch.

 

"He has a football at his feet and in his control. Special players, they just stand out.

"He might make mistakes, Jack, and he's only 24. But the ball is part of his body.

 

"He moves with it beautifully. He has a goal in him. He creates for other players. He works hard.

The former Villa legend continued to assess where Grealish could end up.

 

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"He'd walk into Spurs' side. 

"At Chelsea , I know they talk about Mason Mount but I think right now he's better than Mason Mount.

“If he's getting sold this summer then I guarantee you that a host of the biggest clubs will be after him."

Certainly many fans will disagree with the veteran pundit assertions on Grealish being better than Gini or indeed Hendo for instance.

Talent is one key factor, but would Jack be willing to do all the hard graft and live by the "team first" ethos that Jürgen requires from his players?

That is the key question.
 

 


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Back to back European Cup finals 

38 games unbeaten

20 wins & 1 draw this season

Start giving this team the respect it deserves. Nobody breaks into this 11.

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Everyone knows I'm a big Grealish guy but this is clearly a weird dig at the club by Gray. There are a handful of midfielders in the world at most who automatically get into our 11 and Grealish is definitely not one of them. 

 

Peter Reid who was next to him while he was saying this was sighing the whole time. 

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He is a bit like Hazard in that he’s aesthetically pleasing to watch on that ball... and people immediately think that he’s an amazing player as a result. Obviously Hazard is a great player, but I think he’s overrated because he’s nice to watch.

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29 minutes ago, viRdjil said:

He is a bit like Hazard in that he’s aesthetically pleasing to watch on that ball... and people immediately think that he’s an amazing player as a result. Obviously Hazard is a great player, but I think he’s overrated because he’s nice to watch.

Their goals / assists ratio probably aren’t as different as one might suppose - Hazard was never a consistently productive player - be it here, France or Spain where he’s got 1 league goal to his name (one more for the occasion and games played in the margins). 

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I've been impressed by Grealish.

 

I think he would get into our midfield on ability. I think he would "make our midfield better" - depending on who he was picked alongside.

 

He'd need to develop into a mentality monster first. Would he be our best midfield player - probably not.

 

This doesn't mean I think we should sign him. There is much more than ability that differentiates between a player who is good at football and a great player. He may be able to develop his mentality he may not. I'll trust Klopp to call who is best to bring in.

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Grealish is a good player.

 

Not a great one, mind, but good. He could replace Lallana in the summer and we'd be more or less as good as we are now.

 

The problem with Gray's statement is twofold: one, he'd cost double what he's worth, and two, only an idiot thinks Grealish is a good as Wijnaldum or Keita. But then again, this is Andy Gray we're talking about.

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With 6 months hard training he would be in line to compete with Naby, Ox and Lalanna for the next man in spot in our midfield. He has the ability to be trained up for the Bobby position, that would take him 2 years on training ground.

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4 hours ago, Ne Moe Imya said:

Grealish is a good player.

 

Not a great one, mind, but good. He could replace Lallana in the summer and we'd be more or less as good as we are now.

 

The problem with Gray's statement is twofold: one, he'd cost double what he's worth, and two, only an idiot thinks Grealish is a good as Wijnaldum or Keita. But then again, this is Andy Gray we're talking about.

Think the ‘swap’ with Lallana seems the obvious thought as well but we may have our eyes on other positions in summer and his cost would be high.

 

Posters mentioning Hendo and Gini , but surely Grealish would be weighed up against Ox , Naby and Adam if we were really intrrested.

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7 hours ago, Alex_K said:

Their goals / assists ratio probably aren’t as different as one might suppose - Hazard was never a consistently productive player 

I would say Hazard averaged 15 league goals a year at Chelsea. Over what 7 seasons. He was involved in 35 goals his last season at Chelsea. They are as different as can be.

Grealish may put together a season like Lallana did at Soton - that is his level now.

He would never get in our side.

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I dont see it, I really dont. He didnt look anything special in the Championship and he doesnt look special to me in the Prem. I watched part of Villa's game against city. I was half expecting Grealish to put on a Torres-esque 'come and get me' audition for  bigger clubs than Villa who are surely going straight back down at the end of the season.

 

He fucking strolled around Villa Park with his socks on his shins, his hair in the now 'trendy' style of a mop on top and close cropped sides flopping about as he threw his arms out in frustration. He looked a fancy fucking dan not a special footballer. He did fuck all to try and get Villa going. He's their skipper isnt he? if Henderson had of been strolling around the pitch like that while we were having our arses handed to us at Anfield, people would be in uproar.

 

Nah, he doesnt put the effort in. He doesnt show the energy Jurgen wants from his players. You can probably guess I dont rate grealish and no, I dont think he'd walk into our team. He certainly wouldnt fucking run into it.

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24 minutes ago, TheHowieLama said:

I would say Hazard averaged 15 league goals a year at Chelsea. Over what 7 seasons. He was involved in 35 goals his last season at Chelsea. They are as different as can be.

Grealish may put together a season like Lallana did at Soton - that is his level now.

He would never get in our side.

Hazard averaged closer to 12 over 7 seasons (less than 12.5 - in a team routinely at the top of the league). He actually had 15 goals or more in 2 out of 7 seasons (and then it was 16 on both occasions). Grealish has 6 goals from 19 league games - so yeah he's on for around the average. If he continues the season, it won't be a dissimilar goal scoring season to Hazard's average - which I think was the point the earlier poster made.

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