Jack Grealish is one of the most sought-after players in Europe (Getty Images)
According to the Daily Mail, Crystal Palace have lined up Aston Villa star Jack Grealish as a potential option to replace Wilfried Zaha at the end of the season if the Ivorian decides to head for the exit door at Selhurst Park in the summer.
Zaha has expressed his desire to play in the Champions League and compete for silverware next season and Palace are prepared to let the 26-year-old depart the club for the second time, though the Eagles are likely to quote a price in the region of £80 million to part ways with their star striker. (h/t Daily Mail)
Grealish was heavily linked with a move to Spurs last summer, and while their interest in the 23-year-old is likely to resurface once again at the end of the season, Crystal Palace believe that the English youth international can fill in the void should Zaha leave for a bigger club. (h/t Daily Mail)
Grealish’s time in the Championship this season has been blighted by injuries but the 23-year-old has been sensational for Aston Villa since his return to action in early March.
The midfielder has been one of the driving forces behind Villa’s late surge for a place in the Championship playoffs and has been an indispensable component of a team that has won each of their last 10 games in the second tier. In all, Grealish has accumulated 6 goals and 6 assists from 30 appearances in the Championship for Dean Smith’s side.
To put things into perspective, the acquisition of Jack Grealish in the summer would be a massive coup for the Eagles, as they look for an alternative to Zaha.
Although Grealish won’t provide that pace, power, directness and goalscoring threat from the right-hand side as the Ivorian does, he has all the attributes to take Palace to the next level in the Premier League.
The Eagles have gathered some momentum in the dying stages of the season but Roy Hodgson should be well aware of the lack of creativity in his ranks.
Max Meyer came in with a lot of promise last summer but the German has failed to nail down a regular starting role in the Premier League. James McArthur and Luka Milivojevic have chipped in with valuable goals and assists but one can get the feeling that Palace need a versatile and dynamic attacking midfielder to challenge for a top-ten finish next season.
Undoubtedly, someone like Grealish can help Palace improve massively in the final third in terms of creativity and chance creation.
The 23-year-old didn’t impress in the top-flight that much earlier in his career but any English football enthusiast would be well aware that he has added a lot more to his game in recent years and he is very much capable of making an impact in the Premier League in the foreseeable future.
Grealish is a technically-gifted a tactically versatile creative ace, who is capable of playing in a No.10 role behind the striker and also put wide on either flank, owing to his well-rounded playmaking attributes. He not only has the vision to notice the gaps in the opposition’s defence but he also has the speed of thought and the skill set to pull off defence-splitting through balls.
The 23-year-old has the ability to link-up with his teammates and work the channels in the final third by moving the ball around quickly, while also possessing the ability to break the opposition’s lines with some delightful lobbed passes. Blessed with a bagful of trickery and brilliant presence of mind, Grealish should be an ideal man to induce life into a rather pedestrian-looking Palace midfield.
His average of 2.4 key passes, 1.7 dribbles, 2.1 shots and 2.2 successful long balls per game in the Championship speak volumes of his talent as a versatile playmaker.
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Grealish can transform Palace into a solid mid-table side in the Premier League and few would rue the departure of Zaha if the Eagles manage to strike a deal for the Englishman in the summer.