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TEnglish coach Gareth Southgate explained the challenge facing Jack Grealish if Aston Villa's rejuvenated playmaker wants to make his senior debut in England: he has to play in the Premier League.
Grealish, 23, went from the Republic of Ireland to England in 2015 and represented the under – 21s of England for which he was no longer eligible. He has not yet made his debut as a senior and has seen others double him, including another former Irish international, Declan Rice, 20, who made his debut as a leader at the 5-0 win against the Czech Republic in the Euro 2002 qualifiers at Wembley on Friday. night.
In this match, Southgate also offered his debut on the bench at Callum Hudson-Odoi and his compatriot Jadon Sancho, 18, made his first start in competition. It was the first time in 138 years that an English team featured two 18 year olds and further evidence of Southgate's desire to look beyond its club form. Hudson-Odoi has not yet started a Premier League game for his Chelsea club. England faces Montenegro in Podgorica tomorrow (Monday) night.
Although Southgate admitted that he had to show "creativity" in selecting players from an increasingly shallow English talent pool in the Premier League, he explained that Grealish would still have the disadvantage of play at a lower level. Southgate, himself a former Villa player, quipped that he hoped this problem could be solved quickly with the club's promotion.
He said, "Jack worked briefly with us in the under-21 age group. The difficulty is always, even if we can see the quality. When the opponent's level of evidence is different, it is difficult to establish a direct correlation between what it will look like and a higher level. With callum [Hudson-Odoi], he plays in Europa League, he plays in the Premier League, it makes a difference.
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