In an unexpected surprise, twenty year old attacking midfielder Jack Grealish signed a new four year contract to stay at Aston Villa until 2020.
In what was supposed to be a slow news day for clubs as the international break crawls toward a finish; turned out to be a pleasant surprise for the claret and blue as Jack Grealish penned a new four year deal.
This goes without saying, but this is a really big deal for Aston Villa. It proves the club is committed to finding their way back into the Premier League. Keeping Grealish–perhaps the most impressive player so far this season, and certainly the one with the most potential–helps in this aspect of getting back into the top division.
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Jack Grealish has spent his entire life at Aston Villa save for a small loan to Notts County as a seventeen year old. One can tell how much the club means to Grealish through his on-field demeanor and social media following. From a perspective of passion, this is certainly great to see from a club that has not had much to celebrate in the past 7+ years.
From a business perspective this equally proves important. By restructuring Grealish’s contract in the Championship, it potentially eliminates any strange release clauses/relegation clauses etc. In addition to keeping Jack Grealish pleased, the club focused on helping him become the face of the club moving forward.
This new four year contract starts from today and keeps him at his boyhood club until the summer of 2020.
Grealish’s play this season certainly warranted the deal: In his four Championship starts, he’s yielded two goals and an assist from his left wing position. His WhoScored.com rating shows a 7.18 rating in the early part of the season.
Credit to Dr. Tony Xia and the entire backroom staff for extending one of their best players, who otherwise would be wanted by a dozen or more Premier League clubs.