Could Pochettino Get the Best Out of Jack Grealish?

200_s Remember the uproar when it was revealed that Jack Grealish might consider representing the Republic of Ireland national team instead of his native England? Seems like a long time ago now.

After a season on the peripheries at Aston Villa and numerous photos emerging of the then 19-year old, in, shall we say, relaxation mode on the sun-baked Tenerife strip, suddenly it feels like a choice he needn’t trouble himself with for a while.

Grealish is at an early crossroads in his career; a wrong step now might have irrevocable consequences. Wait, that’s too dramatic. It might have some consequences. Probably.

So where’s it all gone wrong for the Solihull-born midfielder? Tim Sherwood’s short reign in the Midlands was potholed with many an ill-advised decision, but one legitimate success story of his tenure was the handling of the precociously talented teenager.

Never one to view inexperience has a handicap, Sherwood would regularly throw Grealish into high-stakes fixtures as his Number 10, creator-in-chief. And young Jack, for the most part, flourished.

With a Steve Claridge-esque disregard for his own tibias— socks rolled down, barely covering his child-sized shin pads- Grealish was a fearless bright spark in a confused mess of a Villa team. Confident in possession, with the kind of natural technique that is so often lacking in British academy graduates. A proper player, as Sherwood would often remark.

If Tim Sherwood was a fan of Grealish, even overlooking his fancy for lugging rubber sacks of nitrous oxide with a boys-will-be-boys indifference, Rémi Garde appeared unconvinced. It didn’t help that after one of the Frenchman’s first games in charge, a 4-0 defeat by Everton in November 2015, Grealish decided to mark the occasion, as anyone might, by hitting the Merseyside club scene. I am Jack’s total lack of surprise.

Perhaps wisely, Garde figured that unruly teenagers weren’t the best antidote for the relegation-doomed. As a result, Grealish managed just 16 games during Villa’s nosedive into the Championship. It didn’t help his cause much that they lost them all.

Now 20, with Sherwood and Garde now just distant memories, Grealish has a decision to make. Rough it out in the Championship for a year, a venture that might do him the world of good— like sending an rebellious child to military camp— or, look for employment elsewhere.

There is one coach, of course, with somewhat of a talent for extracting maximum potential from young players. You get the feeling if Mauricio Pochettino was allowed a summer with Grealish; hurl the little scamp into an intensive training bootcamp, he might actually harness some of that potential. With his stock relatively low, he wouldn’t command the kind of exorbitant fee you might expect from a home-grown starlet either.

If you remain unconvinced, take a look at his dreadful haircut and tell me that’s not the most Spurs thing you’ve ever seen.

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