The off-the-cuff ingenuity of the Aston Villa man could unleash the attacking potential in a gifted England generation but the manager is reluctant
It was surely a first in the history of the England team; a man-of-the-match full debutant failing to get a single minute on the pitch three days later in the very next game.
Gareth Southgate’s relationship with Jack Grealish has moved on from suspect to faintly ridiculous in the last week. It has moved from glaring squad omissions for spurious reasons to weirdly evasive answers to questions concerning the Aston Villa captain’s performance in an England shirt.
Southgate seemed desperate to talk about anything else after the 3-0 victory over Wales, most notably the qualities of Grealish’s main rival for a spot, Mason Mount. It was a baffling next step in a relationship that has always been uneasy.