Jack Grealish: 'He thrives on being Aston Villa's main man' - Micah Richards analysis

I'm in touch with my old Aston Villa team-mate Jack Grealish on WhatsApp pretty much every day so I will be giving him some stick before Sunday's Carabao Cup final - and joking that I don't want him to turn up this time because he is playing Manchester City.

There is no way that will happen, though. Jack is a big-game player and he is definitely going to put in a performance at Wembley, where the wide-open spaces really suit him.

He was the main man there in last season's Championship play-off final and you could argue that was a bigger moment for him, because it was his chance to get back in the Premier League with Villa.

Grealish has been a Wembley winner with Villa under Dean Smith before, when he captained them to victory in last season's Championship play-off final

But this is still a landmark match in his career. He has lost an FA Cup final when he was a teenager, but now he has another chance to land his first major trophy at the age of 24.

Sunday's game is the kind of stage he belongs on and, knowing him like I do, he will relish the occasion and the size of the test that he and Villa face as they try to cause an upset.

'He loves Villa and he always has done'

Jack and I became close friends during my time at Villa Park and it has been brilliant to watch him fulfil his potential.

I am a few years older than him and whenever he had a dilemma he always used to ask me questions about what I thought he should do.

Some of them were about possible transfers. He had offers and opportunities to leave Villa, but I would just tell him "it is your career - make sure it is you who decides what you do".

He always wanted games and to be playing first-team football but the main reason he has stayed is because he loves Villa, and he always has done.

Grealish is a lifelong Villa supporter who was born in Birmingham and joined the club aged six

Jack grew up a fan and he would die for that club, and I think that loyalty is why it has been difficult for him to move on.

He had some off-field issues to deal with too, where I was able to give him advice on his lifestyle because I had made the same mistakes myself.

When you are young, famous and earning quite a lot of money, you can easily find yourself hanging around with the wrong crowd - people who maybe do not have your best interests at heart.

It is hard to keep your feet on the ground, and knuckle down and focus on football in the way you should be doing to in order to push on as a player.

Jack has said himself that he maybe enjoyed going out a bit too much when he was younger - he is not alone there, but it did not help him that his antics were always scrutinised more because of how he had burst on to the scene.

He has grown up a lot since those days, though. His dad, Kevin, is really close to him and helps him out a lot and I know he has got the right people around him now.

There is a reason he is Villa's captain and he loves the responsibility that comes with that role, on and off the pitch.

'He draws you in, drops his shoulder... and he has gone'

Grealish and Richards race for the ball during a Villa training session in April 2016. They played together nine times in the Premier League in the 2015-16 season, when Villa were relegated

As a player, Jack stood out straight away when I joined Villa in 2015, despite basically just being a kid in a struggling team.

Along with former Manchester City midfielder Michael Johnson, I would class him as the best young player I played with - he was that good.

I have spoken before about my first impressions of Sergio Aguero and how you could not tell how special he was by watching him in training, but then he came alive in matches.

Well, Jack was different. In training or in matches he was always the best player on the pitch, and by a long way.

I would watch some of the things he did the same way I would watch Johno and just go "wow".

When you see him up close on a daily basis you realise just how good his balance and touch is, and how he goes past people so easily.

Jack Grealish has scored seven goals and provided eight assists in all competitions for Villa this season. Only three players have created more chances than him in the Premier League in 2019-20 - Manchester City's Kevin de Bruyne (96), Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold (73) and Norwich's Emiliano Buendia (70)

There are a few different ways of taking a player on - one is to kick and run, put the ball past them and beat them with pace.

Or there is what Jack does, which is to use quick feet to bamboozle your man and beat him before he knows what has happened.

Another of my old City team-mates, Sami Nasri, was also very good at that - but Jack is the best I have ever seen at it.

I've faced him in training and although he is certainly not someone you would describe as slow, he never relies on his pace to beat you in one-on-one situations.

He is really good at drawing you in and, just when you think you have got him, he will shift the ball really quickly, drop his shoulder - and he has gone.

'Jack thrives on being Villa's main man'

Confidence is a big part of Jack's game - it always has been.

It might come across as arrogance to some people looking in, but he is really not like that at all.

He is the nicest guy you could ever meet and very down to earth as a person - but as a player he believes in his ability, which is something you need to get to the top.

When he was younger he put in some top performances but he is far more consistent now, which is why he has taken his game to the next level.

It is tough for anyone to show how good they are in a struggling side but he has been Villa's best player every time I have watched them this season.

There is a lot of pressure there, because they look to him for inspiration every week, but he thrives on being the main man.

Now he is ready for the next step, which is the international stage.

I just cannot believe he has not even had a senior call-up by England yet because for me he should not just be in the squad, he should be starting every game - he is above what Gareth Southgate has got in his midfield right now.

Hopefully he will get his chance in the March friendlies against Italy and Denmark because he is exactly the kind of player they need this summer.

There are a lot of midfielders who can put a tackle in or pop up with a goal but, to progress at Euro 2020, England will need someone willing to get on the ball in difficult areas or when things are not going well in a game.

The biggest compliment I can give him as a player is that Jack is always that man.

Micah Richards was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.