Ex-Liverpool and England defender Jamie Carragher on Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish: "Another player I do want to compare him to, because of the position he plays, is Eden Hazard. In this left side of a front here, he's got a similar sort of build, powerful legs, backside as well."
Tuesday 1 December 2020 09:23, UK
Eden Hazard is a better comparison for Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish than England legend Paul Gascoigne, Jamie Carragher told Monday Night Football.
The Villa winger, who forced his way into the England side during the last international break, has scored five and assisted five goals - including a strike in Monday night's defeat to West Ham - across only nine games for his club in the Premier League this season, having played a major part in their final-day Premier League survival last season.
Grealish said he "relished" being likened to Gascoigne when questioned after his final England appearance in that break, but Sky Sports pundit Carragher thinks there is a more accurate comparison to be drawn.
"I'm a huge fan of Grealish," he said. "Graeme Souness criticised him last season for taking too many touches for a midfielder, but I don't see that; he's not a conventional midfielder player. That's why when I see or hear the links with Paul Gascoigne, I don't see that either - he doesn't play in that position.
"Another player I do want to compare him to, because of the position he plays, is Eden Hazard. In this left side of a front here, he's got a similar sort of build, powerful legs, backside as well.
"How many times did we see Eden Hazard release that burst of pace? He's probably a bit quicker than we give him credit for. He's different in that position, he's not Sterling, Mane, Salah who's going to make penetrating runs all the time in behind, he's going to come to feet more often than not. When he's running at people, it's round the edge of the box."
Hazard scored 110 goals in 352 games for Chelsea across seven seasons, with his form in his final campaign in particular earning him a move in the summer of 2019 to join Real Madrid, where injuries have stifled his hopes of replicating his form in La Liga.
Meanwhile, Grealish has shone for his boyhood club, was a target of Manchester United in the summer and made his international bow this season.
"We know it's a small sample size with Grealish comparing his numbers to Hazard's, if he's hitting them at the end of the season, we can rightly put him really close to Hazard," Carragher said.
"Let's not forget, that was a brilliant season from Hazard. We say about Hazard sometimes having great seasons, sometimes dropping off, his last season was fantastic.
"He's actually producing numbers above him at the moment. It's only a quarter of the way through, but I think that's the best comparison rather than Gascoigne, because of the position he's playing."
