Emiliano Martinez: Jack Grealish is 'Lionel Messi with a right foot'

The Argentine goalkeeper sees similarities between Grealish and the Barcelona legend in terms of how they play and the respect they draw from opponents and team-mates.

Grealish is enjoying the best season of his career, scoring six goals in the Premier League and setting up 10 more in a Villa team which has its sights set on qualifying for Europe.

Martinez told TalkSport: “Jack is the most talented player I have seen. He never gives the ball away. He can drive past two or three players.

“I just see Messi with a right foot when he is on the ball. You can’t get the ball off him. I think he is the most talented English player and I am surprised he has not played more games for England.”

Martinez has trained with Messi, a six-time world footballer of the year and considered by some the greatest to have ever played the game, while on duty with the Argentina national team.

He continued: “Messi is Messi, the best ever. But in terms of training, when Jack is on the ball people don’t want to tackle him, they respect him on the ball.

“He can finish, he can chop people, he can do everything. Messi is the same. In the national team when I trained with Messi it is the same. No-one wants to touch him, he chops people and treats them like cones.

“I see that with Jack here so that is why I compare him a little bit.”