Jack Grealish’s friend Callum O’Hare is hoping to show he’s still got what it takes with Coventry

They honed their skills playing Gaelic football, they are Solihull boys who grew up at local club Aston Villa and both are natural entertainers who can get a crowd going.

Jack Grealish and Callum O’Hare competed in the Birmingham area GAA leagues as youngsters before joining Villa as teenagers. The players stay in touch and share family ties.

Grealish’s career has skyrocketed since then and he is now one of Britain’s most recognizable footballers, but as he only turned 25 in May, O’Hare still has time on his side. Grealish did not establish himself in the Premier League until his mid-twenties, sealing his £100 million transfer to Manchester City a month before his 26th birthday.

O’Hare are not at that level yet but if they had him for a whole season Coventry would be a Premier League club by now.

O’Hare was heartbroken with his colleagues after Luton beat them on penalties in the Championship play-off final at Wembley in May. He had not played since he suffered a serious knee injury against Sheffield United on Boxing Day and this was another blow.

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Still, O’Hare – who might have joined newly promoted Burnley last January had he not damaged his anterior cruciate ligament – is making a good recovery and is keen to play a major role in Coventry’s pre-season preparations.

After Viktor Gyokeres leaves and Gustavo Hamer’s future is in doubt, the Sky Blues desperately need O’Hare to be fit and shooting in August.

What comes next is intriguing. Like Hamer, O’Hare has only one year left on his contract. As Burnley’s interest showed, there are plenty of admirers. Coventry owner Doug King, who took control last January, will be keen to keep his key players, although it was impossible to hold on to Gyokeres, who scored 21 goals last season.

There are still those at Villa who believe the club made a mistake in letting O’Hare leave on a free transfer three years ago. While his best position is as an attacking midfielder operating close to a central striker, he has also been deployed on both flanks.

If there had been a different regime in Villa then, O’Hare would certainly have been treated more sensibly. Even if he hadn’t broken into the first-team image, there would have been a structured plan, the kind that Cameron Archer and Aaron Ramsey have benefited from in recent times.

Yet their loss has been Coventry’s gain. O’Hare made 102 appearances for Coventry in the Championship, scoring eight goals and providing 19 assists. Until the incident against Sheffield United, he had barely missed a game, 46 times in 2020/21 and 45 times in the following campaign.

Coventry hit the road again with a pre-season friendly against Exeter on July 18, followed by another against MK Dons a week later. Starting over after losing a play-off final is one of the most difficult tasks for any club, but having O’Hare back available means the future looks just that little bit brighter.

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