Usually when a youngster begins to impress in the first team, their manager moves to calm expectations.
But Tim Sherwood isn’t like most managers.
If anything, the Aston Villa boss has increased the pressure on Jack Grealish with his astronomical valuation of the playmaker.
“I wouldn’t want to sell Jack Grealish for £60m today. I know what he could possibly be,” he said. “What looks expensive this year might not be expensive next year.”
“That Liverpool game (in the FA Cup semi-final) was huge with a lot of expectancy and pressure, it didn’t faze him, he grew more.
“He is certainly a type of player we have seen at the very top level for the likes of Liverpool and in the past for Aston Villa, we have to recognise that.”
Let’s just put that price tag into context – in recent years we’ve seen Premier League stars David Silva, Sergio Aguero, Alexis Sanchez and Diego Costa each move for around half of what Sherwood would want for Grealish.
Still, he certainly has a £60m haircut…
