Bruce backs Grealish for England call-up

Grealish has recently committed his long-term future to Aston Villa, signing a new five-year deal at Villa Park. 

The 23-year-old has emerged as a key player for Villa, and was subject to interest from Tottenham during the summer transfer window.

Under-fire manager Steve Bruce now believes that he deserves an England call-up. 

"I'm not going to tell Gareth how to do his job, my job is hard enough at the minute. Certainly he [Grealish] came up in the conversation, the conversation was only brief," Bruce said in his pre-match press conference.

Bruce and the England manager, Gareth Southgate, watched Liverpool lose to Chelsea last night, with the pair briefly discussing Grealish.

"So that's got to be his next challenge and his next step up. People are always watching him, that's going to be obvious.

"Now we need Jack to find the form that got him a new deal and attracted the bids like he did in the summer... for me he was the standout player in all of the Championship last season.

"Ability-wise nobody can question him."

Aston Villa take on Bristol City at the weekend.