Great Expectations – Jack Grealish

The defining feature of Tim Sherwood’s managerial stint at Tottenham Hotspur was his willingness to promote youth – bringing talented youngsters like Nabil Bentaleb to the fore. Sherwood maintained that trend on his arrival at Villa Park, as the precocious talents of midfielder Jack Grealish were handed the opportunity to impress.

Grealish’s displays played a key role in Villa’s end of season form which saw them escape relegation and book their place in the FA Cup Final. Villa fans and Fantasy managers alike are now expecting more from Sherwood’s latest protege.

The 19-year-old attacking midfielder was afforded his first Premier League start under Sherwood and has since gone on to excite with a composure and confidence that belies his years. Speaking to the press last month, Sherwood insisted it was no surprise that Grealish had made such an instant impact, given that he’d earmarked him as one to watch during his spell as Tottenham’s youth team coach:

“He’s always been like that ever since I’ve seen him play from 16 years of age in youth teams. He likes to show everyone that he’s a top player. He makes the difference. But you don’t really get the credit for it until you do it in front of 39,000 fans.”

Sherwood clearly has a “project” to work on in Grealish; an array of off-the-field concerns have surfaced as a result of recent alleged incidents. If the Villa boss can quell these issues and nurture his undoubted abilities, Grealish could well emerge as a handy Fantasy asset next term. Here’s why…

Key Factors

• Having forged his way into the Villains’ starting line-up for their 3-3 draw against Queens Park Rangers in Gameweek 31, Grealish impressed enough to cement that berth for the subsequent six matches. Although Grealish was tested in a central role, Sherwood primarily deployed him as the most advanced left-sided player in a 4-3-3 set-up, with Christian Benteke leading the line and Charles N’Zogbia or Gabriel Agbonlahor occupying the opposite flank. In spite of this attacking assignment, Grealish is expected to retain his midfielder classification in next season’s Fantasy Premier League, which bodes well for his prospects in the budget bracket.

• Notwithstanding his influential displays during Aston Villa’s run-in (particularly in their 3-2 defeat to Manchester City), a single assist across 822 minutes should ensure that Grealish’s value stays in the budget bracket next term. Having started last season at 4.5, he looks likely to rise to around 5.5 – a scenario that could entice a healthy number of Fantasy managers to snap him up as their fifth midfielder.

• One of Sherwood’s chief assignments upon taking the reins at Villa Park was to get them scoring again, following an eight-match winless streak that harvested just one goal under Paul Lambert. Having netted just 12 times in their first 25 Gameweeks under the Scot, the West Midlanders went on to chalk up 19 goals in the final 13 fixtures – on a par with United and Spurs and surpassed by just five outfits. With the emphasis very much on attack, then, there’s every reason for being optimistic that Villa could offer us value for money in the final third of the pitch next time around.

• Although Grealish served up a paucity of Fantasy returns, his underlying stats improved considerably upon Sherwood’s arrival. The youngster’s minutes per shot quickened from 84.7 to 62.6, whilst his frequency of key passes also sped up, from 63.5 minutes to 44.7. Indeed, as mentioned in our recent members article on Sherwood’s Villa, Grealish’s average of 1.8 chances created per appearance under the new manager was more than any team-mate, whilst he sat joint-fifth in terms of goal threat, averaging 1.2 attempts per league outing.

• Villa’s opening set of fixtures also look promising for the youngster. Sherwood’s side face trips to Bournemouth, Palace and Leicester in the first ten Gameweeks and with home encounters against Sunderland, West Brom, Stoke and Swansea also on their agenda, the Midlands side square up to just three (MUN, liv, che) of last season’s top six over that period.