Aston Villa: Analyzing the role of Jack Grealish in a 4-4-2

22-year old attacking midfielder Jack Grealish made his long-awaited return from injury on Monday. Aston Villa’s talented youngster played 60-minutes in a 2-0 shut-out of Wolves for the Under-23s.

Jack Grealish returned far faster than expected following a ruptured kidney. Let’s rewind: In the final summer friendly tune-up, Grealish collided with Watford’s Tom Cleverley, falling hard on the pitch.

The injury layoff was expected to keep him out until December at the earliest, but Action Jack was not to be denied a half-season; he returned to full training last week during the international break. He was able to subsequently start for the under-23s and last a full half-hour on Monday.

Grealish is very much in contention to feature from the bench this weekend against Fulham.

Aston Villa can surely use a another creative player of his quality. The problem is, where does Grealish fit in Steve Bruce’s recent 4-4-2 system? The current formation’s rendition, that saw a run of five consecutive clean sheets, was broken Saturday at the Molineux Stadium.

In recent times Jack has operated as both a left winger, and number ten central attacking midfielder. On the left, Jack possesses supreme dribbling skills, but lacks elite top-end speed for one-on-one situations and recovery runs. Therefore, with incumbent Neil Taylor suspended, a move to the left is not ideal…right now at least.

Likewise, Grealish is not replacing Conor Hourihane or Glenn Whelan/Mile Jedinak in central midfield – not in the current flat 4-4-2 system.

Keinan Davis and Jonathan Kodjia have formed quite the explosive strike partnership over the last six weeks. Replacing Davis for Grealish seems like the most logical conclusion, thus forcing Kodjia into a more central, focal role. However, the club would in turn sacrifice innate hold-up play from the young 19-year old Davis – hold-up play Grealish would flourish under. An ideal attack might feature all three: Grealish playing directly underneath both Davis and Kodjia.

But then the question becomes: what to do with both Albert Adomah and Robert Snodgrass on the wings?

This would require quite the formation and play-style shift for manager Steve Bruce – one he may not be comfortable committing too just yet.

Villa Verdict:

Jack Grealish should spend the next two weeks featuring from the Aston Villa bench. For one, he is not quite match sharp in terms of fitness. Secondly, Bruce needs to figure out if he is going to continue the flat 4-4-2. A home defeat to Fulham over the weekend would likely signify the need for a slight change.

Going forward, Grealish might be Aston Villa’s super-sub. He has the attacking qualities to chase a 1-0 deficit and the versatility to replace several Villa players in the lineup.