Jack Grealish saunters over, a little tousled, looking as if he has just woken, which he confirms he has. It is 4.30pm at St George’s Park, the England midfielder is late for his media interview – actually he is really late – and, deadlines being deadlines, his audience is shifting uncomfortably. “Yeah, every day, I have my afternoon nap … I ain’t the same man without it,” Grealish says, with a wink.
Everybody loosens up pretty quickly because how can you not? The Aston Villa captain has this effect on people, drawing them in, all easy confidence and quips and, over the next half hour or so, he tries to make sense of what is happening to him; specifically, how he has come to be the poster boy for England’s shot at Euro 2020 glory, which continues on Saturday with the quarter-final against Ukraine in Rome.
The 25-year-old made his debut only last September but he is the player the fans call for when he is on the bench and he is the one who excites them the most when he is on the pitch.
Grealish’s appeal is based on his mercurial talent, the smoothness of his touch, his explosive bursts, but it is also rooted in how he comes across as being just like any other lad in the country. He is flawed, he has made high-profile mistakes but he has the common touch and there are times when it feels as if he is living everybody’s dream.
“I’m loving it,” Grealish says. “It makes me so happy and proud when I hear the crowd singing my name. It could be too much pressure for some people but I just want to repay that. I always try and play with a smile on my face because I’m doing what I love.
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“It’s nice when Villa fans are calling for you but you kind of expect it because you are one of them. When it’s England fans, it’s different. I get booed every single week by these fans. When I speak to my mum and dad, they think that it’s so nice people are not going: ‘Ah, if he was at Villa, we’d boo him every week.’ They are giving me that support and doing it for the whole team.”
Grealish has started only once at the Euros – against the Czech Republic, when he set up the only goal for Raheem Sterling – but he helped to make the difference when he came on in the last-16 win over Germany, playing a part in Sterling’s opening goal and providing the cross for Harry Kane’s second. Grealish could not sleep afterwards and he ended up watching a re-run of what has already gone down as a classic in the small hours in his St George’s Park room, when he could not fail to be struck by the craziness of the goal celebrations.
“If I wasn’t a footballer and I was just with my mates, I would just be doing what they’re doing,” Grealish says. “I’d be travelling everywhere watching England, being in pubs and stuff. I think I’d be at BoxPark. I’ve seen a few videos of that and it looked unreal.
“I’m just a normal kid and, as I’ve grown up [in football], that’s probably one of the hardest things. I speak to my family about it all the time because when I go out and do stuff and I look at what my friends are doing … I’d love to be like that sometimes and just go and do stuff.
“Of course, I’ve made mistakes. When I first came on the scene, no one knew me and I could do anything I wanted to and then, playing in the FA Cup semi-final and final for Villa [as a 19-year-old in 2015] … everyone knew who I was. It was difficult to deal with but I have matured so much. Deep down, I am still the same Jack. I will never not be that person.”
Grealish is asked what he would have done if he were not a footballer. Become a plasterer like his father, Kevin? “I couldn’t be a plasterer,” he says. “I’d be a club promoter. Tenerife or Ibiza. I would be getting everyone into the club.”
Grealish talks about the togetherness that Gareth Southgate has fostered in the England squad; how club rivalries are left at the door. “I didn’t think I would ever be hugging an ex-Blues player in Jude [Bellingham],” Grealish says. By the same token, how do Birmingham fans feel about their sudden support for Grealish?
It has not been easy for Southgate to handle his array of attacking stars – all of whom play regularly at their clubs but cannot share the same field for England. How does the manager show Grealish the love?
“Plenty of cuddles,” Grealish says. “Nah, he’s been perfect with me. I see some stuff sometimes about me and Gareth but we have a great relationship. He does with all the players. He’s a brilliant man-manager.
“You have got six players that play either side of Harry [Kane] that, in reality, could play for most clubs in the world. Myself, Jadon [Sancho], Marcus [Rashford], Raheem, Phil Foden and Bukayo [Saka]. It’s scary how good us six are. That’s not being big-headed or nothing. That is just the truth.
“He can’t play all six of us but one thing he’s done really well is make people think that they are still involved. He still speaks to everyone on a daily basis.”
Grealish is desperate to start against Ukraine but, whether it is 90 minutes or a substitute’s cameo, he will do what he always does – live the moment to the full and be himself.
“My dad’s a plasterer,” Grealish says. “I don’t know if he’s any good or not but I said to him that he’s done it his whole life and it’s the same for me. I’ve been a footballer my whole life. If it’s a bigger game or more people are watching … I don’t really change anything I do. I just do it as though it’s an under-18 match or a Villa game.”