Aston Villa FC are just minutes away from kickoff against Club America, here at Soldier Field, in beautiful Chicago, Illinois. We’ll get to the latest on the Jack Grealish return rumors in a bit, but first, the starting XIs for both sides have now been issued to the media here in the press box.
No big surprises here as Unai Emery has indeed decided to field a strong side.
John McGinn will wear the captain’s armband.
So, how’d we do with our prediction of the lineup?
The crowd is well, it’s not exactly “crowded,” to say the least. In a stadium that holds just over 60,000 we only see about 12-18,000 in attendance. Let’s ballpark it and say 15,000.
In terms of affiliation, well Club America easily has about 85-95% of the partisanship.
The stadium is mostly yellow; not much claret and blue.
This will be a de facto road game for the Villans.
Prior to kickoff a moment of silence was held in honor of the legendary Craig Shakespeare.
He passed away from cancer at the age of 60. A Birmingham native, he would serve as an assistant coach at Villa Park over the course of his managerial career.
Now, on to Grealish, who has fallen out of favor at both Manchester City and Three Lions.
There are rumors that he’s looking to come back to his boyhood club, with City potentially exploring the idea of a loan-to-buy deal.
The former Villa captain became the first English international to command a £100 million transfer fee, when City signed him in 2021.
However, Grealish just hasn’t become a fixture in the City first team, and that lack of a prominent role cost him a spot on the England national team for Euro 2024.
This development left Grealish absolutely gutted, and now a return could be best for all involved.
According to the Mirror, Villa are monitoring the situation with Grealish the one who could ultimately make the decision.
Always remember what he said to Birmingham Live, when he left three years ago:
“It’s a club that is so close to my heart and I hope to go back there. That’s always been in my mind. Ashley Young has done it and I want to do the same, 100 percent.”
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.