Jack Grealish Is A 'World-Class Player' And Compared To Lionel Messi Amid Manchester City Transfer Interest

Jack Grealish has been hailed as a "world-class player" and compared to Lionel Messi in terms of his style of play amid intense speculation linking him to Manchester City.

That's according to former Manchester United player Luke Chadwick, who admitted Grealish's style of play "suits City's style really well."

Grealish, 25, has emerged as a top target for City this summer and Pep Guardiola is believed to be a keen admirer of the Aston Villa star.

The England international, whose current Villa deal expires in 2025, has been subject to a potential £100m transfer to the Premier League champions.

Chadwick, who came through the Red Devils' youth academy, made a comparison between Grealish's style of play to how Messi played under Guardiola at Barcelona.

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The 40-year-old told CaughtOffside: "I think Grealish is a world, world-class player, or is set to become a world, world-class player.

"The way he plays suits City's style really well, the way he draws defenders to him and then can split balls in and get the ball switched out the other way to create space.

"I obviously wouldn't compare him to someone like Lionel Messi but the way that Messi played for Guardiola at Barcelona, where he was the dribbler, the one that would take a chance, beat a player and then move the ball quickly, it really made them tick.

"I think Grealish is the same sort of player, not at Messi's level yet but can stay on the ball for long periods of time and really draw a large number of players to him."

Grealish made 27 appearances for Villa last season and scored seven times and registered 12 assists in all competitions.

The Villa captain also picked up two assists at this summer's Euro 2020 as England reached the final before suffering a penalty shootout defeat to Italy at Wembley.

Chadwick has admitted that it is "interesting" to see how Guardiola would incorporate Grealish into the current City squad.

"It'll be really interesting to see him fit into that squad at Manchester City," he said.

"He's a different player than they've got at the moment."

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Manchester City, Aston Villa, Football, Lionel Messi, Jack Grealish, Premier League, England

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

@AdnanRiaz9