As much as it might make the ultimate romantic transfer story Jack Grealish will not be coming back to Aston Villa this summer, in the short term – or maybe even ever.
That’s according to former Claret & Blue striker Emile Heskey who believes the 28-year-old still has plenty to contribute at Manchester City, despite seeing his role reduced significantly last season.
Indeed having been a mainstay of the team which did the treble in 2022/23, Grealish started only ten Premier League games last term, a fact that no part played a part in Gareth Southgate’s decision to leave him out of the England squad for this summer’s European Championships.
But Heskey, who played 114 times over four seasons at Villa, doesn’t see a synergy between Grealish and Unai Emery’s new team.
“I think Aston Villa have moved on from Jack Grealish and I think Jack has moved on too,” Heskey told OLBG.
“Maybe if you want one last hurrah, which would be really good for the fans and really good for the club in a couple of years then he can come back, but at this moment in time he’s doing what he’s doing, he’s still got a fantastic role to play at City in a fantastic squad.
“When you’re looking at the competitions that they play, not one player can play all their games, so they’re going to need two teams. It’s very, very draining when you’re playing that many games. So he’s going to play plenty.
“He’s got to keep himself fit. He’s had a few injuries and when you’re coming back from injuries, it’s not like a light switch where you’re going to flick it back on and everything’s just going to be hunky-dory.
“You’re going to be rolling back into what you were like before. As we saw with James Maddison, he actually acknowledged that it’s going to take your time. It’s going to take you probably a month, a month and a half to get back into the swing of things. And I still think Jack’s got a pivotal role to play within the Man City dressing room.”
