How Aston Villa would line up with Jack Grealish

Cameron Smith

2 Apr 2024 15:41 BST
4 min read

Jack Grealish, Aston Villa, Man City, 2023/24 — © IMAGO

Jack Grealish faces an uncertain future at Manchester City and a sensational return to Aston Villa has been mooted as a possibility.

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The England winger has made just seven Premier League starts so far this season and Pep Guardiola engaged in an animated discussion with the 28-year-old after his cameo off the bench against Arsenal on Sunday.

Recent rumours have suggested that Man City are unhappy with Grealish’s development on the pitch, with the former Villa man seemingly regressing after an extremely positive 2022-23 season.

Grealish only notched 16 goal contributions last campaign, but he played a key role in Man City’s historic treble win, starting 41 matches in all competitions.

However, the arrival of Jeremy Doku in 2023 saw Grealish’s automatic place in the starting XI come under massive threat and he has been fairly ineffective this season.

As a result, he has been linked with a summer exit and having previously revealed his desire to return to Aston Villa at some point in his career, Unai Emery’s side have emerged as one of Grealish’s most likely destinations ahead of the 2024-25 campaign.

Considering Man City spent a whopping €117.5 million to sign the Englishman in 2022, they are unlikely to let him leave for cheap, but if Villa are able to finance a move for Grealish, it could help save his career.

The 28-year-old was a joyous, unpredictable player during his time at Aston Villa and his style has been eradicated by Guardiola’s system-based tactics. If Grealish returns to Villa Park, he may well rediscover the form that earned him his big-money move to Man City.

How Aston Villa would line up with Jack Grealish

Emery has almost solely used a 4-4-2 system since his appointment at Aston Villa, with a traditional winger usually operating next to Ollie Watkins.

Grealish could be used in this role as it would enable him to play centrally - something he did fairly regularly during his final season at Villa - but he would likely be deployed as a left midfielder instead.

Considering Grealish's attacking tendencies, it’s likely that John McGinn would be used just behind Watkins, with Boubacar Kamara and Douglas Luiz in midfield, and Leon Bailey on the right flank.

Alex Moreno, Pau Torres, Ezri Konsa and Matty Cash would be Villa’s most likely back four, with Emiliano Martinez in between the sticks.