Aston Villa and their promotion hopes were pegged back on New Year’s Day as QPR picked up an impressive point away at Villa Park but there may be a silver lining to the cloud – Dean Smith may have just seen the potentially out-going Jack Grealish’s replacement in the flesh in Ebere Eze.
On the chalkboard
Well, despite recently signing a new long-term deal that will keep him in claret and blue for another five years after the club insisted he wasn’t for sale, Grealish will surely want out in the summer should his side fail to win Premier League football for next season.
Spurs unsuccessfully offered £25m for the 23-year-old back in August and have turned their attention to Jarrod Bowen this month with Grealish currently sidelined through injury but, regardless, there will undoubtedly be no shortage of suitors for the academy graduate should he seek an exit in six months’ time.
Currently four points shy of a coveted play-off spot, the Villans would have hoped for more from their first match of 2019 but Eze’s performance may have put him on Smith’s radar.
Too Eze
The 20-year-old was impressive for the Hoops as he bagged a goal and took on 5 shots on the way to a well deserved point but it’s surely his effectiveness in playing off the striker and linking the frontline to the midfield that will have got Smith thinking.
Grealish excels in such a role and the Midlands outfit look much less potent when he doesn’t play. Often used as a winger as well as an attacking midfielder, the Villa number 10 shares more than just a shirt number with Eze – WhoScored lists dribbling and ball retention among both’s strengths.
On paper the young Nigerian looks a carbon copy of Grealish and he could be an ideal replacement should the Villa man leave. What do you think, Villa fans? Do you think Eze would be a good fit? Let us know by voting in the poll below…
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