Premier League legend looks unrecognisable as Jack Grealish poses with boyhood hero who left him 'starstruck'

Jack Grealish was left "starstruck" after the Manchester City midfielder bumped into one of his boyhood heroes.

The 29-year-old England international, who played a bit-part role for City last season, is facing an uncertain future after it emerged that he is expected to be left out of Pep Guardiola's squad for this summer's Club World Cup.

He is expected to attract interest from a host of clubs across Europe, according to BBC Sport, with Spurs, Everton, Newcastle and Aston Villa – as well as Serie A side Napoli – all being rumoured as potential suitors.

In the meantime, Grealish is enjoying his post-season break following a long campaign. In fact, he recently bumped into former Villa centre-back Olof Mellberg, and would later post about the encounter on his social media.

"Not many people that I get starstruck over but this guy is one!" Grealish wrote on Instagram. "Big Olof Mellberg. One of my boyhood heroes."

Grealish grew up idolising a number of Villa players from the Holte End, including Mellberg, who joined the club from Racing Santander in 2001 for around £5 million, would go on to establish himself as a fan favourite.

He spent seven years in the Premier League with Villa, and made 263 appearances in all competitions before joining Juventus.

After hanging up his boots in 2014 following a spell in Sweden with Copenhagen, Mellberg turned his hand to management, where he would win consecutive promotions with Swedish side IF Brommapojkarna.

He went on to manage Fremad Amager, Helsingborgs and more recently St. Louis City SC, although he was sacked by the MLS club in May after a poor start to the season that featured just two wins from their first 15 games.

"The decision to part ways with Olof goes beyond just results," said St. Louis sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel.

"We've analyzed the team's performance across a number of factors, including the need to execute against a style of play that led to the team's initial success and has been part of our DNA for four years,"

Image credit: Instagram/jackgrealish

He added: "As a club, we have certain standards we need to meet and believe a coaching change was necessary to improve our overall performance and return to a winning culture. Our fans deserve a better-performing team, and we intend to give them one."