HE’S played with some of the best young players – including the likes of Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Kobbie Mainoo.
But Jack Grealish’s pick for the one who’s impressed him the most might surprise a few people.
The Manchester City and England midfielder took to social media to name the former team-mate who had impressed him the most.
And the name he went for doesn’t even play in the Premier League.
His choice was, instead, a player who is currently gracing League Two.
Writing on Instagram, Grealish said he’d gone for Notts County star Daniel Crowley.
Grealish wrote: “Probably the best youngest I ever played with! So good to see him back to his best, enjoying his football for super Notts County.”
Crowley, a former Arsenal and Aston Villa youth-team player, starred in Notts County’s win against Grimsby on Thursday night scoring two in a 4-1 win.
The former Birmingham City midfielder also featured in the Dutch top-flight with Willem II and the Go Ahead Eagles.
Crowley was among Premier League stars at the PFA Awards in Manchester on Tuesday night, after being named in the League Two Team of the Year.
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He scored 16 goals from midfield as Notts County fell to 14th in their first season back since being promoted from the National League.
Former Notts County boss Luke Williams said Crowley deserved greater respect after the midfielder faced some criticism for sharing his religious beliefs in a post-match interview last season.
The 27-year-old spoke after scoring in a win against Bradford and went on to thank Jesus when handed the man-of-the-match award.
Williams, who jumped ship to Championship side Swansea last seaason, said; “If you don’t agree with his choice of religion, okay, but judge him as a human being on the pitch. We should respect that.
“And I’m not talking about religion, I’m talking about principles and the way he lives his life.
“He made a reference to his faith in a post-match interview and I think he received some unkind comments.
“You may think ‘religion is maybe not for me’, or someone else has a different faith, that is fine.
“But he is doing things in a great way and I’m so happy we have him here with us.”
NOTHING stays the same forever.
And that includes the Premier League, which is making a number of tweaks this season.
Team news will now be released 75 MINUTES before kick-off, 15 minutes earlier than had been the case before.
Things could get crowded on the touchline, with the number of substitutes permitted to warm-up boosted from three players per team to FIVE.
There’s also a change to how added time is calculated when a team scores a goal, an update to the ‘multiball’ system and the introduction of semi-automated offsides – but not straight away.
Go here to read about all the changes to the Premier League for 2024/25.
