Aston Villa urged to return 100 million stars from Man City

Lee Hendrie has urged Jack Grealish to make a sensational return to Aston Villa.

The 39-time England international moved to Manchester City for £100m in the summer of 2021.

Since then, he has scored 14 goals and provided 20 assists in 143 appearances in all competitions, helping Pep Guardiola’s men to three Premier League titles and a Champions League among a host of other major honours.

However, Grealish has not always earned his place in the starting XI at the Etihad Stadium.

Over the past two seasons, for example, Grealish has started just 16 Premier League games, with a further 17 appearances coming off the bench.

Is Jack Grealish returning to Aston Villa?

At 29, Grealish will be aware that now is the time to be a regular starter before his career begins to wind down.

And the previous one Village Midfielder Hendrie believes a return to his former club could be just what Grealish needs, although he admits the finances of such a deal could prove quite “complicated”.

“I’d love to see Jack Grealish back at Aston Villa. Grealish is Villa through and through,” said Hendrie (via Birmingham World).

“I remember talking to him when he signed for City, I was commenting on one of his matches, we had an in-depth talk and he said that he was having a hard time adapting to the new environment. I told him, keep at it and keep going and enjoy your football. It’s your time to go on and win trophies, and that’s exactly what he’s done.

“He is a fantastic person; he has a huge heart I don’t think we’ve seen the best version of Grealish at City, or the version that goes out on the pitch and has fun. We’ve only seen bits and pieces, but I think Jack is basically playing the way his coach wants him to play.

“When I see Jack play in England, it’s like he’s a different person. Play with much more freedom. If you look at his contributions, goals and assists, you can say it’s been disappointing for him, but we know he’s got a lot of skills and we know he can contribute a lot more.

“It’s at the stage where Jack should probably be thinking about leaving the football club. Nobody could deny that the move hasn’t been successful, he’s won everything there is to win during his time there, but I think that for himself, he has to find his enjoyment playing again. I would love to have Villa, but would they have the finances to bring him back? It would be a difficult deal to complete .

“I know the Villa fans have given him a stick but I think they would love to see him back at Villa Park. He wouldn’t come for a payday – he would come to win something with Villa and help take the club to a Hendrie concluded.