Emi Martinez has compared Aston Villa Jack Grealish to Lionel Messi, claiming the Englishman is the 'most talented player' he's seen.
Grealish has been receiving more and more plaudits in the last couple of seasons, since getting Villa back into the Premier League.
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He has been linked with Manchester United on a number of occasions and it wouldn't be surprising to see other 'big' clubs linked with the England international.
This season the 25-year-old has scored six goals in the Premier League, and assisted 10 for his teammates, whilst Dean Smith's have risen to ninth in the league.
Villa keeper Martinez, who is impressing as well this season, is clearly very pleased with what he sees of his teammate, comparing Grealish to Messi.
"He [Grealish] is the most talented player I've ever seen," the former Arsenal back up keeper told talkSPORT.
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"He never gives the ball away. When I see Grealish running, it's always a shot on target or a corner for us. He will drive past two or three players.
"I just see Messi with a right foot when he has the ball. You can't get the ball off him.
"He's the most talented English player and I'm surprised he hasn't played more games for England."
Grealish played for Ireland in age group international football but switched allegiances in 2015, but took a while to get into the senior team.
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There were calls for Gareth Southgate to get him in a squad early last season but it took until August for him to make his debut and even after that he was used sparingly in his first few games.
His continued form for Villa, and early success for the Three Lions, now makes him a near certainty for the Euros this summer.
On the comparison with six time Ballon d'Or winner Messi, Martinez added, "Messi is Messi, he's the best ever. But in terms of training, when Jack has the ball, people don't want to tackle him, they respect him, he can finish, he can chop, he can do everything.
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"When I train with Messi for the national team, it's the same. Nobody wants to touch him, he chops people, he treats players like cones. I see that with Jack here."
The Argentine goalie, who is yet to win a cap for the national team despite being in a few squads, was asked about the comparison between his current teammate and the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mesut Ozil, who he played with at Arsenal, replying, "He's the most talented player I've ever seen so I'd put him a step ahead of them."
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: Football News, Aston Villa, Barcelona, Lionel Messi, Jack Grealish, Premier League, England
