Former Premier League Golden Boot winner Kevin Phillips believes that Jack Grealish would be an ideal fit for Liverpool if the Reds were to show an interest in him.
The 24-year-old winger/attacking midfielder has stood out for Aston Villa this season despite their presence in the Premier League relegation zone, with nine goals and eight assists for Dean Smith’s side. Phillips, a former Villa Park player himself, believes that the £32.4m-rated ace (as per TransferMarkt) is “certain” to leave the club in the summer if they are relegated, with Jurgen Klopp’s team a possible destination.
Speaking to Football Insider, the ex-Sunderland striker said: “Liverpool are at a point where they can splash out on the world’s best. Those world’s best players want to come and play for Liverpool and Klopp. He plays a certain style and he will not buy someone unless it plays his system.
“The obvious one is Jack Grealish. If Villa go down I am certain he will move on. Could he play for Liverpool? He is the only one out of the bottom three or four teams that could fit in that team. They will certainly be targeting players from top abroad teams and around the world.”
It isn’t hard to see why Phillips believes Grealish won’t hang around at Aston Villa if they fail to survive in the Premier League. The 24-year-old has proven this season that he can thrive at top-flight level and, as a player likely to be entering the peak of his career, he would surely want to be playing in the Premier League rather than dropping back into the Championship.
Also, as Phillips has suggested, the Villa Park maestro could be a good fit for Klopp’s preferred 4-3-3 formation. Grealish has played mainly as a left winger this season, with the majority of his goals coming from that position. He is also capable of operating in a more central attacking midfield role if Klopp needs or wishes to deviate from his usual 4-3-3 setup.
If Grealish were to leave Aston Villa for Liverpool, he would likely be competing with Sadio Mane for a place on the left flank at Anfield. Mane has scored twice as many goals as the 24-year-old this season in all competitions as well as in the Premier League – they have both played 26 league matches in 2019/20, with the Senegal attacker netting 14 times to Grealish’s seven.
However, the Aston Villa man outperforms his Liverpool counterpart for some metrics. He averages more passes per game than Mane (39.8 to 31.3) and has a better pass completion rate (84.4% to 81%), as well as executing more key passes (2.7 to 1.6) and completing more dribbles (2.2 to 1.9) per game. Grealish also has a knack for drawing fouls, winning 4.9 free kicks per game this season.
Another case for signing the 24-year-old as a possible alternative to Mane is that the Liverpool man is likely to miss a significant portion of next season should Senegal qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations finals, which are due to be held in January and February.
Even if Grealish is relegated from the Premier League for a second time this year, he has shown himself to be at home at top-flight level and, as Phillips has stated, he could be a good fit for Klopp’s Liverpool as competition for Mane on the left flank.
Do you agree with Phillips’ claim that Grealish would be a good option for Liverpool if Aston Villa are relegated? Have your say by commenting below!
