After 5 years of choosing to represent the Three Lions of England instead of Ireland, his ancestral home, Jack Grealish finally got his first call up to England national team on Monday.
The 24-year-old midfielder who has represented Ireland from under 17 to under 21 levels of youth football, declared his intention to play for England, his country of birth in 2015. The decision earned him a place in England under 21 squad that won Toulon Tournament in 2016.
Since then, he has been left in the dark as par his international career with England until Monday, August 31, 2020, when Marcus Rashford withdrew from England squad due to injury. Hence, the national coach of England, Gareth Southgate, decided to replace the injured Rashford with Grealish who is the current captain of Aston Villa.
Grealish would for the first time in his football career be in England’s squad for not just a match but for two matches in the European Nations League. The first match will be against Iceland on Saturday, September 5, 2020, while the second match will be against Denmark on Tuesday, September 8, 2020.
Jack Grealish is on the verge of being a superstar footballer
Even if the midfielder would not make it into the country’s first eleven in those two matches, he is already very proud that he would have the opportunity of training alongside some of the best players in the Premier League.
It is also very interesting to the Aston Villa talisman that he would have the opportunity to probably team up with Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane, Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling, and Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold, the superstars he usually plays against in the league.
If Grealish is given the chance to play come September 5 and 8, Grealish’s transfer market value which is currently estimated to be €40 million, could appreciate before the end of this summer transfer window.
“I believe in my own ability and I’m confident I can perform at the international level,” Grealish told The Sun. “But I also want to improve and I’m eager to learn what it takes to be a success at this level.
“If anything, I believe the better the players you play with or against, then the better you will perform yourself. I’ve always believed that.
“When you look around the England squad, they are not just the best players in the country – they are the best in the world. I’ve played against these guys when they’ve been playing for Liverpool, Manchester City, and Spurs, with not a lot of success!
“Now I can’t wait to actually train beside them and, hopefully, team up with the likes of Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, and Trent Alexander-Arnold, rather than trying to stop them. I know I can become an even better player by learning from these amazing players.
“I want to show the manager what I’m all about, play to the best of my ability, and, hopefully, keep my place in the squad.
Recall that Jack Grealish was very instrumental in ensuring that Aston Villa escaped relegation in the 2019-2020 Premier League season. The midfielder scored 8 goals and provided 6 assists in 36 Premier League games in the just-concluded season.
His performance did not only attract the attention of Gareth Southgate, but it also attracted the attention of Manchester United. The Premier League giants are on the verge of signing him this summer.
