Gabriel Abgonlahor has backed Jack Grealish to ‘destroy’ defenders if he joined a bigger club like Manchester City.
The Aston Villa captain, who signed a new long-term contract at Villa Park last week, finally made his England debut against Denmark.
But those who watch the boyhood Villa fan on a regular basis still feel as though Grealish does not get the credit he deserves.
Conversely, Phil Foden has continued to earn steady praise for his rise under Pep Guardiola, with some sections of the media criticising the Spaniard for not playing the 20-year-old more regularly.
Grealish helped Villa to a 1-0 win over Sheffield United on Monday night, while Foden started and scored for City during their victory over Wolves later the same evening.
But Agbonlahor, who spent the entirety of his career with Villa, believes Foden is afforded more space because City have better players than Villa who also require the attention of defenders.
The 33-year-old told talkSPORT: “Jack Grealish in a Manchester City side last night, for instance, is he going to have two players on him and be doubled up?
“No, because who else is in that side? Sterling, De Bruyne, Jesus – there’s too many players to double up on.
“So give Jack a team like Manchester City and have the ball received to him, running at players one-on-one and he is going to destroy them.
“When he plays for Aston Villa, whenever he gets the ball he’s got three players round him. Because, no offence to players like Trezeguet, but teams will let it go to Trezeguet.
“But when you get the team talk from managers, it will be ‘when Jack gets the ball get three players round him’.
“It happened last night; whenever he gets the ball, he has so many players round him. But, if he was in a Manchester City shirt, he wouldn’t have that many players around him.”
And when pressed by Adrian Durham who he would pick for the England side if he were Gareth Southgate, Agbonlahor’s answer was unequivocal.
“I’m giving it to Grealish.”
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By: Joe
Title: Jack Grealish or Phil Foden? Aston Villa captain backed to ‘destroy’ opponents if he was at Manchester City by Gabriel Agbonlahor
Sourced From: talksport.com/football/763609/jack-grealish-phil-foden-aston-villa-captain-manchester-city-gabriel-agbonlahor/
Published Date: Tue, 22 Sep 2020 21:25:02 +0000