Samir Nasri

Ex-Fiorentina, Aston Villa and Manchester City defender Micah Richards has drawn similar comparisons between Samir Nasri and Jack Grealish.
Richards said Grealish has a similar playing style to former Arsenal and Manchester City midfielder Samir Nasriwhile he was speaking on the BBC Match of the Day top 10 podcast.

Richards compared Grealish’s ability on the ball to that of Samir Nasri while he debated with fellow ex-Premier League players Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer on the greatest escapes in the history of the Premier League. Villa came into the conversation after they survived relegation on the final day of the penultimate league campaign (2019/20 season). According to Richards, Grealish was the catalyst as Villa beat the drop ahead of Bournemouth.

Villa secured a 1-1 draw at West Ham United on the last day of that season to stay in the Premier League in their first season back with the big boys and Grealish was responsible for the goal that ultimately led to their safety. He gave Villa the lead before Michail Antonio equalised for the Hammers.

Grealish was even more influential for Villa this season and he could have propelled Villa to seal a place in Europe next season if not for his injury. Villa were in the thick of the race for European football before their skipper missed several weeks through injury. In the end, his return to full fitness was too late for Villa to make an assault on an European place. The Aston Villa captain returned to the team with few games left to play.

The Villa captain proved his fitness to England manager Gareth Southgate who selected him as one of his 26 players for the Euro 2020 tournament. He featured in all the two England warm-up games played last week ahead of the tournament starting this Friday with the game between Italy and Turkey.