Former England international Dean Ashton has urged Gareth Southgate to start Jack Grealish against Italy, claiming the forward is a “head and shoulders” above his teammates.
The Manchester City star came on in the 72nd minute of England’s match against Germany, and he changed the game as the Three Lions earned a 1-1 draw in Munich.
The omission of Grealish from the Three Lions’ most recent starting XIs has become a talking point, particularly given the lack of attacking inspiration in the 1-0 defeat to Hungary last summer.
Following criticism for negative tactics, Southgate’s changes had a positive impact on the match in Munich, with Jarrod Bowen also adding threat from the bench, which pleased England manager Gareth Southgate.
“The game is opening up at that point, and the freshness of not only Jack but putting Raheem behind Harry, gave us that zip in transition to create space for Jack on the other side,” he said. Bowen performed admirably as well.
“We have a good squad, and all four wingers did well for us.”
Kieran Trippier echoed Southgate’s remarks, saying, “You can see the talent that we’ve got throughout the squad and it was always going to be important against Germany and teams like this that everybody has to be ready and knows their roles.”
“When Jack came on, I thought he was fantastic.”
“The talent that he’s got he can be a game-changer so we’re delighted at how his introduction changed the game.”
talkSPORT host Adrian Durham named Grealish his man of the match despite featuring for just 18 minutes and with a game against Italy coming up on Saturday, ex-West Ham striker Ashton believes the winger is a dead-cert to start at Wembley.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Ashton said: “There was no such thing as a hangover for Grealish by the way, how good was he when he came on?
“He was absolutely magnificent.
“Such invention, such an injection of pace and energy into the side, Sterling moving into that role as a 10, and Bowen looked good when he came on.
“That’s what you want. As a manager you want players to come on and give you a real headache and I’d be very very surprised if he doesn’t start the next game against Italy.
“He was that good when he came on, honestly. He was head and shoulders above anybody else in that front four before he came on.
“He was outstanding and what we became accustomed to seeing when he came through at Aston Villa, it was taking a game by the scruff of the neck and mesmerizing defenders with his work, but not only that, he made the right decision every single time.
“Knowing when to dribble and when to pass.” “The cross for Kane, which Neuer brilliantly saved, he was so good when he came on.”
“Personally, I think he’s a wonderful talent,” Ashton added. I mentioned Gareth’s desire for trust out of possession in this game, and that’s the decision he’ll have to make.
“It’s not a risk because Grealish is so good, but Gareth wants to be defensively solid.” There’s no doubt about it because he’s demonstrated throughout his managerial career that he wants a solid team that is difficult to beat, but when you’ve got a talent like Jack Grealish…
“He needs to play, and why hasn’t he started when he came on?”
