Aston Villa have been great at producing young talent through their academy system over the years and current first-team star Jacob Ramsey is an example of that.
Stretching much further back, the likes of Marc Albrighton, Gabriel Agbonlahor, and Gareth Barry also came through the academy before emerging as first-team players at Villa Park.
The most famous product of the Villa youth set-up, however, is, arguably, Manchester City and England forward Jack Grealish, who left the club in 2021.
City swooped in to sign him for a then-British record transfer fee of £100m, after he had come through the academy and emerged as a first-team star for the Villans.
Jack Grealish’s Aston Villa career in numbers
The Englishman joined the club in 2002, at the age of seven, and worked his way through the various age groups, scoring six goals in 43 matches at U21 level, before his emergence in the senior squad.
In total, Grealish racked up 32 goals and 41 assists in 213 appearances in all competitions for Villa, playing as a number ten or a winger, with his best performances coming in his final two seasons at the club.
Jack Grealish | 19/20 Premier League | 20/21 Premier League |
|---|---|---|
Appearances | 36 | 26 |
Goals | 8 | 6 |
Big chances created | 8 | 14 |
Key passes per game | 2.5 | 3.2 |
Assists | 5 | 10 |
As you can see in the table above, the England international contributed with goals and assists at Premier League level, with 22 ‘big chances’ created in two campaigns.
Grealish became the poster boy for young attackers wanting to follow in his footsteps at Villa, but not all of them were able to achieve their dream. Andre Green is one starlet who aimed to become a first-team star but just fell short.
Where Andre Green is now
The winger joined the club in 2006, at the age of eight, and by 2019, he told Aston Villa’s website that he was “trying” to emulate Grealish’s success in the senior squad.
During that season, Green made 18 appearances in the Championship for Villa but only contributed with one goal and one assist for the side, having managed one goal in six League One outings for Portsmouth on loan.
“That’s where I’m trying to be – where Jack Grealish is at the moment. That’s the plan. I can already feel the love from the Villa fans, but I want to be in that bracket of being an icon for the club – a legend. That’s what I aspire to be.”
The English forward, who scored seven goals in 40 U21 games for the Villans, made 48 appearances in his career with the first-team in total and only managed two goals and one assist.
Where Are They Now
Your star player or biggest flop has left the club but what are they doing in the present day? This article is part of Football FanCast’s Where Are They Now series.
After his comments about wanting to follow in Grealish’s footsteps, Green was sent out on loan to Charlton for the 2019/20 campaign and only produced two goals in 13 third tier matches, where he was described as a “real handful” by Lyle Taylor, before being released in the summer of 2020.
He then had spells with Sheffield Wednesday and SK Slovan before a move to Rotherham United in the summer of 2023, where he has been for more than a year now.
To date, the 26-year-old attacker has failed to score in ten outings in all competitions for the League One club and his contract is due to expire at the end of the season.
Unfortunately, Green was unable to fulfill his ambition of being the next Grealish at Villa Park and is now struggling for game time in the third tier of English football.
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