Finding a Jack Grealish Replacement
Jack Grealish has been a sensation for a while now - and a fan favorite everywhere.
The talismanic midfielder is Villa’s main man, creative hub, and the straw the stirs the drink for the side - It’s no coincidence that their season really took a turn for the worse when Grealish was injured.
Now, the England international looks a chance to leave this offseason with City among other clubs being linked for a transfer.
If he were to leave, it would be a huge gap in the Villa side - and they’d have to find a replacement.
In this article we’ll look at potential replacements that work on a numbers basis.
How Grealish Plays
The best way to find a player to replace Grealish is to work out how he actually plays.
Using SmarterScout, we can find style numbers, which is how frequently a player does a certain action compared to others in his position. This number is given a 1-99 number.
The number doesn’t measure how “good” the player is at those actions - just how often they do it.
Last season, Grealish played most of his minutes as a left-winger that hovers into the middle.
Looking at his style numbers, it’s pretty easy to see that Jack Grealish is a stud and plays a huge role.
He isn’t super high in any one action, but he does a bit of everything. Especially his dribbling passing towards goal (passes that go 10m towards attacking goal), and receiving in the box. That combo tells me there’s a guy that is involved in everything a side does in attack.
You can find Jack Grealish cards here
Option One: Ademola Lookman
Ademola Lookman impressed many during his loan at the relegation-bound Fulham. On load from RB Leipzig, Lookman was able to get regular game time, and now his future is kinda up in the air a bit.
Not good enough to get regular game time at Leipzig, but too good (and at too important a time for his career) to bench warm.
So, I think he’s pretty get-able for any club.
And if we compare style numbers, we can see a bit of overlap to Grealish’s playing style.
A few things to note are Lookman’s increased shot numbers compared to Jack Grealish’s.
However, at only 0.03 xg per shot it’s safe to say that Lookman’s shot selection needs a little improvement - and that’s backed up looking at his shot chard from last season.
While he’s getting into the box, he’s still shooting from an angle that doesn’t tend to result in a lot of goals.
Lookman won’t be a like-for-like Grealish replacement, and definitely won’t have the same impact, but it’s interesting to see where he goes and Villa could work out well for all parties.
Find Ademola Lookman Cards on eBay
Option Two: Mikel Oyarzabal
Mikel Oyarzabal is over at the Euros right now, and has been getting good minutes for Spain. Which probably says all you need to know about him.
He’s been linked to a bunch of big clubs recently, but I can’t see a Manchester City going for him, as has been the buzz - those clubs are linked to everyone, so you need to take it with a massive grain of salt.
We can look at a comparison of the two players’ style metrics and see a few key differences.
The main thing that jumps out is Grealish being much more of an active dribbler, and Mikel Oyarzabal is likely to get on the end of chances, with a high shot frequency for players in his position.
It would require a change of pace for the Villa side, as Grelish’s dribbling is vital to their attacking threat, but Oyarzabal is quality.
Also, this season is Oyarzabal’s lowest in dribble frequency, with it being a much higher aspect of his game in prior seasons - so it’s in his arsenal.
I don’t know if the Sociedad captain is an achievable option this offseason, but who knows. He’s easily the best player on this list. I don’t think he’d be the attacking hub that Grealish is, but he’d be a great get if it could happen.
The Sad Truth
The sad truth of the matter is that it’s highly likely that whoever replaces Grealish will be far less effective. Especially on the offensive end.
SmarterScout’s impact ratings back that up, with other options not getting anywhere close.
Keep in mind though, Jack Grealish has a Villa side that’s basically built around him, so he’s in a great position to succeed compared to being a cog in a machine at a larger club. This has to change impact ratings one way or another.
But at the end of the day - there’s a reason that one of these players is being linked to Manchester City for 100m, and it’s because he’s better than most other players on the planet.
Other Options
I’ve looked at two options today, but there’s more.
Changing formation and getting another striker like Tammy Abraham - Abraham has been at Villa before on loan and is definitely on the outside looking in at Chelsea. That would require a change if formation and buildup style, but has potential to work. You could rock a strike partnership, or Ollie Watkins has played on the left before; would be a bit stiff though considering the season he’s had. I like Tammy Abraham, and in transparency, I have one of his rookie cards from when he was on loan at Swansea.
Emi Buendia has already been signed from Norwich but is much more of an option on the right. Buendia’s teammate, Todd Cantwell has been mentioned as a potential Grealish replacement on the left, but I think Norwich will look to keep him with the potential to let him impress in the Premier League. I’d also Cantwell would be a bench option at this stage.
Will Villa Even Sell Him?
I guess the big question is if Aston Villa will even sell Jack Grealish.
In an ideal world, he’d stay. Grealish loves Villa and they love him - they also give Grealish freedom to do much more than the top clubs would. At Villa he’s got a team build around him and he makes the most of that.
However, the prices being thrown around in the news are massive. A 100m sale could really help the club and would be able to be re-used to bolster the entire squad. And if Villa look to hold, then who knows what can happen - a poor season or injury could see his price plummet - and I can’t see many ways his price drastically goes up from there.
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