Michael Owen has told Gareth Southgate to build his England team around Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish.
Grealish received his latest Three Lions call-up this week for the upcoming fixtures against the Republic of Ireland, Belgium and Iceland.
He has now been included in Southgate’s last three squads but the playmaker has made it onto the pitch just twice.
Grealish delivered a man-of-the-match performance in the win against Wales during the last international break but was then dropped for the subsequent clashes with Belgium and Denmark.
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Owen watched Grealish and his Villa teammates take Arsenal apart on Sunday in a 3-0 win at The Emirates and the former Three Lions striker had a piece of advice for Southgate ahead of the European Championships being held in the summer.
“Seriously impressive performance from @AVFCOfficial and the more I watch him the more I think @JackGrealish should be central to Gareth Southgate’s plans this summer,” he tweeted.
Grealish responded by ‘liking’ the post having helped Villa to their fifth win in seven Premier League matches this season.
England face Ireland in a friendly on Thursday before taking on Belgium (Sunday) and Iceland (Wednesday) in the Nations League.
Tyrone Mings said of his club and international teammate Grealish: “His role for England should be not taking anything away from what he is doing at Aston Villa. He wouldn’t want to take all of the qualities that we’re showing with Aston Villa, and the strengths we have on the pitch are what get us into the camp. The England manager won’t change that too much.
“It’s quite clear the strengths he has with ball carrying and his ability to drive at the opposition and create chances for his teammates and strikers. I see Jack day in, day out. He’s a phenomenal talent, I really do. The more you see him, fortunately I see him every day, the more you appreciate how good he is.
“So, long may it continue for us playing together at Aston Villa and for us to get as many caps with England together.”
