It has been a rollercoaster summer for Aston Villa as they appeared to be teetering on the precipice of financial disaster and in danger of losing Jack Grealish in the most drawn out saga of the transfer window, but things are looking brighter ahead of Saturday's Championship clash with Ipswich and Steve Bruce has indicated that Villa are hoping to tie Grealish down to a new deal.
Speaking in his press conference ahead of the weekend's game against the Tractor Boys, Bruce admitted that the investment in the club by Wes Edens and Nasser Sawiris was the only reason that Villa were able to stop Grealish from joining Tottenham. Many outsiders will be wondering how good the 22-year-old midfielder actually is and many Villans fans believe that Grealish staying will be the difference between them staying in the Championship and gaining promotion to the Premier League this season.
Bruce said of Grealish:
He's arguably the best young player I've had, probably ever, when you think of Jordan Henderson and Andy Robertson who are playing at Liverpool, and I've had a lot of good young players.
We have said to him there will be a reward of a new contract offer to him. The new owners are trying to get a new chief executive in at the moment and that will kick in hopefully at the end of this month when the window closes."
The English playmaker's statistics don't make for particularly impressive reading since Villa were relegated to the Championship in 2016. Injuries have disrupted his last two campaigns as he scored just five goals and laid on five assists during the 2016/17 season, before scoring three goals and providing six assists during Villa's run to the play-off final last term.
The Villans ultimately came up short against Fulham at Wembley in the play-off finale in May, although Grealish was the most creative player on the pitch and caught the eye with his ability to turn defence into attack with his mazy, dribbling runs.
However, it is interesting to note how Grealish's absence has been felt more keenly recently as he matures as a player and his influence grows.
Grealish missed 15 games during the 2016/17 campaign and Villa won nine, drew three and lost three during that time, picking up an average of two points per game on average. In comparison, Grealish played 31 games that season and Villa won seven, drew 11 and lost 13, picking up just 1.03 points per game on average.
The average points difference was reversed during the 2017/18 campaign as Villa won nine of the 19 games he missed (drew six, lost four), picking up an average of 1.73 points per game on average. In the 27 regular season games Grealish played (excluding play-off ties), Villa took 1.85 points per game.
The playmaker may not produce the goods in terms of goals and statistics on a regular basis (yet) but it is clear that he is an increasingly influential player at Villa Park. Steve Bruce will be hoping to see the best of Grealish against Ipswich on Saturday at Portman Road, where it bodes well that Villa have gone unbeaten in nine league visits since 1984.
