What's next for Jack Grealish?
Jack Grealish has done about as much as he can at Aston Villa, and his final act may be to right the wrong of the 2015-16 season by saving the club from relegation. The quicksilver captain (and sometime covidiot) will probably be on the move this summer, though, and his next destination is far from certain. Where should he go, and, once there, where should he play?
Grealish has lined up for Villa at LW, CAM, and CM this season after playing most at CM in the Championship. At every position, his attacking output has been excellent. Here he is at LW and CAM:
He's a more aggressive passer at CAM, but his attacking output and ball retention are better at LW, where he also gets into the box more often to shoot. Here are his smartermaps for both positions:
At LW, Grealish camps out in the left channel and takes a lot of shots from the edge of the box or just inside. At CAM, by contrast, his actions are more spread out across the pitch, and he's more likely to pass from the left corner of the box. Grealish has also played several matches as a left-sided CM, and it's interesting to see how his style has changed in the Premier League versus the Championship:
In the Championship, he used to do more link-up passing and didn't really try to find his teammates in the box. This season in the Premier League, he's had a more balanced mix of passing without sacrificing his dribbling – yet he's been getting into the box and shooting less than in past seasons, still occupying the left channel but playing a slightly more withdrawn role. The increase in his goal total this season comes largely from an improvement in his finishing, or at least is proof that he can still finish in positions further from goal.
So where should Grealish go if he leaves Villa? Apart from a loan to Notts County in 2013-14, Grealish has never left the West Midlands. He'd probably prefer a move to another Premier League club, but the options aren't obvious. Manchester United can have Anthony Martial on the left and Bruno Fernandes down the middle. At Manchester City, Grealish would probably have to platoon with Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden. But Grealish doesn't provide the same sort of width as Leroy Sane, whom he's probably replace at the Etihad. Chelsea will have Christian Pulisic, Mason Mount, Callum Hudson-Odoi, and Hakim Ziyech filling up the wings and attacking midfield positions. Leicester are spoken for with Harvey Barnes on the left and James Maddison down the middle.
Outside the likely Champions League clubs, Arsenal will need a playmaker if Mesut Ozil departs, and a player who comes in from the left would allow them to play Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (if he stays) or Alexandre Lacazette as an out-and-out-striker, providing their LB could shore up the space on the flank. Spurs need a playmaker, too, and may look to the left side if Son Heung-min departs. But if Grealish insists on Champions League football, he may have to go abroad.
British players haven't found many foreign destinations to their liking lately, in large part because so few clubs on the Continent can match Premier League wages. It's not clear that Grealish would take to a new environment so easily, either, but he might try if a megaclub came calling. Real Madrid are loaded on the left and down the middle, but Barcelona may want a new attacker in the mix – especially if Antoine Griezmann heads for the door. In fact, with Lionel Messi on the right and Grealish on the left, one could imagine a setup similar to the early Pep Guardiola teams, with Grealish in Andres Iniesta's role.
Of course, those teams played more than a decade ago, but we can get some idea of the similarities with a side-by-side comparison at CM. Here's Grealish at Villa last season, when they were dominating the Championship, alongside Iniesta at Barcelona in 2016-17:
Maybe it's not such a crazy comparison! Grealish as the new Iniesta? It could happen!
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