Euro 2020 is just around the corner and Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish is already looking ahead to the tournament and has revealed the details of a conversation he had with Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson.
Grealish has never competed in a major tournament with the England first team before and the Villa man is eager to impress on the biggest stage.
So far this season Grealish has been responsible for either scoring or setting-up 15 goals in Villa’s first 19 League games – a return that gained praise from people like Gary Lineker and Paul Merson who described Grealish as being “on another planet”.
Speaking to the Express and Star Grealish said: “The one thing I am just praying to God for is I get in that squad. I’ve enjoyed every minute so far. It’s definitely helped bring my game on.
“Watching those players train and taking little bits from their game. Sometimes it is just speaking to them.
“I remember one night in Belgium I sat with Jordan Henderson for two hours and we chatted about everything. It is nice to speak to these people about how they see the game, how they train at different clubs, different cultures.
“You learn stuff from all these guys and I feel that is one thing which has helped me massively. As soon as you start playing for the national team, you up your own game.
“Hopefully there is more to come but as I’ve said to a lot of people, there is so much talent in the England team in my position.
“I have to keep doing what I have been doing, keep trying to impress the manager and fingers crossed. I still think there is so much more to come from me and that is not being big-headed either.
“It is just having confidence in my own ability. I think everyone I have worked with will say how confident I am as a person and a player in my own ability.
“I truly believe in myself and think I have so much more to give. I have big aims for this season. Of course it is nice to hear those things, particularly from people like Paul Merson and Gary Lineker. But you never want to listen to it too much, to the point it starts to affect you.
“You just have to take it, move on and then try to do more to earn even more praise. That is what I try to do. I know what I can give. I know what I can do as a player.”
“Half of it is watching. You watch players like Kevin De Bruyne and when he gets into the final third, what he does.
“You need to mix it up, sometimes dink to the back stick, sometimes go underneath the defence. You need to mix it up as much as possible. That is what I have been doing in training and it has paid off in the matches.”