Joe Cole believes ‘once in a generation’ talent Jack Grealish should have 100 England caps by now and Gareth Southgate should ‘build his side around him’ as winger excels for Manchester City
- Grealish is in irresistible form for Manchester City as they chase a trophy Treble
- They put one foot in Champions League semi-finals with 3-0 win over Bayern
- Joe Cole believes Grealish should already have played more for the national side
Joe Cole has described Jack Grealish as a ‘once in a generation’ talent who should have the England team ‘built around him’ for years to come.
The Manchester City winger is in sensational form this season and Cole praised the all-round improvement to his game under Pep Guardiola.
Grealish, 27, was influential again as City crushed Bayern Munich 3-0 on Tuesday night to put one foot in the Champions League semi-finals.
Cole first recognised Grealish’s talent when he was playing at Aston Villa and isn’t surprised he has developed into a key player for City after making a £100million move there in 2021.
‘He is playing for arguably the best manager in world football, in the biggest games and playing fantastically well, influencing games,’ Cole said on BT Sport.
Jack Grealish is in outstanding form for Manchester City as we approach the season’s run-in
City boss Pep Guardiola has taken Grealish’s game to new heights since his £100million move
‘We talk about all the unseen things he does, the ball-carrying, the holding-on, the weight of pass, he is adding more goals, more assists. He looks like a leader.
‘Bernardo Silva gets back defending, but he is back defending now. Unbelievable.’
Former West Ham and Chelsea midfielder Cole argued that Grealish, who has 31 England caps, should have been a regular for the national team from a younger age.
‘The only thing for me, if Jack had been Brazilian, Spanish, Portuguese, he’d have had 100 caps for his country,’ he said.
‘That’s not saying something about the England manager and the ability to pick him, I just think we get these types of players once in a generation.
‘Glenn [Hoddle] was one, he played 53 times for England. He should have had the England team built around him and I think Jack could have been nurtured even better than he has been.
‘But forget that, he is at the right club now, in the right place with the right manager and enjoying his football.
‘We have a terrible habit in this country about constantly talking about what players can’t do rather than what they can do.
Joe Cole suggested Grealish would already have 100 caps if he’d been a different nationality
Gareth Southgate has played Grealish 31 times with the winger’s importance growing
‘He gives you something that no other English player has been able to do for a long time. He is so useful and Pep saw that.
‘Pep has gone “you’ll do for me, give him a year to settle in” and now he’s as good as anyone in the team.’
Grealish, who has five goals and nine assists for City so far this season, will be important to their chances of landing a Treble of Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in the weeks ahead.
Guardiola’s team are hunting down league leaders Arsenal, with the gap reduced to six points last weekend, and they host Leicester City at the Etihad Stadium this Saturday evening.
They take on Sheffield United at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-final the following weekend, a few days after the return leg with Bayern in Germany.
Grealish, 27, has added more goals and assists to his game after settling in at Manchester City