BBC Sport pundit Garth Crooks claims that he believes Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish is better than Tottenham Hotspur’s Dele Alli.
On the chalkboard
Selecting his Team of the Week after Grealish scored in Villa’s 1-1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion, Crooks picked the midfielder and explained his reasoning.
He said: “What I want to know is when is Grealish going to be spoken about in international terms? Between Dele Alli, James Maddison and Grealish I’m having Grealish every time. Come on Gareth Southgate – start giving this lad some encouragement and the occasional mention in the press.”
But do the statistics bear this out?
Per WhoScored, Grealish has made 22 appearances in the Premier League this season, while Alli has made 17.
The two have scored the same amount of goals, both netting seven times in 2019/20. Grealish has registered five assists, while Alli has three to his name.
Offensively, the Villa man averages 2.1 shots per game, 2.6 key passes, 2.3 dribbles, while he is fouled 4.8 times. Defensively, he makes 1.1 tackles per game, 0.5 interceptions, and 0.3 clearances. He also has a passing accuracy of 85.2%.
Alli, by comparison, averages 1.7 shots, 1.2 key passes, 1.6 dribbles and is fouled 1.3 times. He also averages 1.4 tackles, 0.8 interceptions, and 0.6 clearances, with a passing accuracy of 77.2%.
The big fat Tottenham quiz of 2019 – how much do you remember about the last year at Spurs?
What a missed opportunity
Spurs must be cursing their luck.
Grealish has thrived in the Premier League this season but they could have had both he and Alli.
Spurs made a bid for the Villans star in August of 2018 after the Midlands club had been taken over by wealthy new owners. Had they made the offer just weeks prior, the then-Championship club would have had no choice but to cash in.
Chairman Daniel Levy dithered, though, and Villa were able to reject the bid and keep their prized asset.
Crooks is right to pick Grealish over Alli – the stats prove that he is a far better option in the final third, though he does not quite muck in as much in his own half as his countryman – but the numbers simply emphasise what a mistake the club made.
They should have moved heaven and earth to bring the attacking midfielder into the club and then perhaps we could have seen the two playing together, rather than being compared like this.
Meanwhile, Spurs fans have debated the potential signing of a global megastar!