Joe Cole hails Manchester City star Jack Grealish and says he should have 100 England caps
Joe Cole believes ‘once in a generation’ talent Jack Grealish should now have 100 caps for England and Gareth Southgate should ‘build his squad around him’ as winger excels for Manchester City
- Grealish is in irresistible form for Manchester City as they chase a trophy Treble
- They set foot in the semi-finals of the Champions League with a 3-0 win over Bayern
- Joe Cole thinks Grealish should have played more for the national team
Joe Cole has described Jack Grealish as a ‘once in a generation’ talent that the England team should ‘build around him’ in the coming years.
The Manchester City winger has been in sensational form this season and Cole praised the overall improvement in his game under Pep Guardiola.
The 27-year-old Grealish was influential again as City crushed Bayern Munich 3-0 on Tuesday night and set foot in the Champions League semi-finals.
Cole first recognized Grealish’s talent when he played at Aston Villa and is not surprised he has developed into a key player for City after moving there for £100m in 2021.
“He plays for arguably the best manager in the world, in the biggest games and plays fantastically well, impacting games,” Cole said on BT Sport.
Jack Grealish is in great form for Manchester City as we approach the run-up to the season
City boss Pep Guardiola has taken Grealish’s game to new heights since his £100 million transfer
“We talk about all the unseen things he’s doing, carrying the ball, holding it, the weight of the pass, he’s adding more goals, more assists. He looks like a leader.
Bernardo Silva is defending again, but he is defending again now. Incredible.’
Former West Ham and Chelsea midfielder Cole argued that Grealish, who has played 31 caps for England, should have been a regular for the national team from a young age.
“The only thing for me is that if Jack had been Brazilian, Spanish or Portuguese, he would have had 100 caps for his country,” he said.
“That says nothing about the England manager and the ability to pick him, I just think we get players like this once in a generation.
Glenn [Hoddle] was one, he made 53 appearances for England. He should have had the England team built around him and I think Jack could have been brought up even better than he has been.
“But forget that, he is now at the right club, in the right place with the right manager and enjoying his football.
“We have a terrible habit in this country of constantly talking about what players can’t do rather than what they can do.
Joe Cole suggested Grealish would already have 100 caps had he been of another nationality
Gareth Southgate made 31 appearances against Grealish and the winger’s importance grew
“He gives you something no other English player has been able to do for a long time. He’s so handy and Pep saw that.
“Pep is gone “you do it for me, give him a year to settle in” and now he’s as good as anyone on the team.”
Grealish, who has scored five goals and nine assists for City so far this season, will be important to their chances of a Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League treble in the coming weeks.
Guardiola’s side are chasing league leaders Arsenal, having narrowed the deficit to six points last weekend, and will host Leicester City at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.
They take on Sheffield United in the FA Cup semi-final the following weekend at Wembley, a few days after the second leg with Bayern in Germany.
Grealish, 27, has added more goals and assists to his game after joining Manchester City