David Seaman reckons Jack Grealish can give England Euros spark and is just like Gazza… but better looking
DAVID SEAMAN believes that Jack Grealish is like former England team-mate Paul Gascoigne.. but better looking!
The 57-year-old knows all about playing in a home tournament, having starred between the sticks for England at Euro 96.
Having seen Gascoigne’s impact first hand, Seaman believes that Jack Grealish could offer his country a similar spark 25 years on.
Asked about whether the Aston Villa captain should start on Sunday afternoon, the 75-cap stopper exclusively told SunSport: “I would defo go with Jack! I love the way he plays, I love the way he makes the little passes.
“He’s a bit like Gazza with magical passes as well. Passes that you don’t normally see and all of a sudden he’s just played a player through.
“His other quality is getting free-kicks. A lot of people say ‘yeah he’s always diving!’
“I’m like, no, if there’s contact on him and they’re not getting the ball, he’ll go over and he’ll get you a free-kick in a great position in and around the penalty area.
“We’ve got two great dead ball specialists in (Marcus) Rashford and (Harry) Kane so that’s a massive advantage. Jack’s really hard to tackle. It’s so hard to get near the ball because he’s so good at that.
“He knows how to get his body in between the player and the ball and if the player touches him, he knows to go over to get an advantage. There’s nothing wrong with that at all.”
Further quizzed by SunSport about who else should start behind Kane, Seaman added: “I’ve got to go Rashford on the right. Then it’s so hard, I have to write it down and then when I write it I keep changing it again!
BETTING SPECIAL – GET ENGLAND TO WIN EURO 2020 AND HARRY KANE TO BE TOP SCORER AT 18/1
Most read in Football
“Do you play Foden? Do you play Mount? Or do you play Sterling? For me Foden is brilliant, I love that he’s cut his hair like that as well. He’s added the pressure right on himself as he’s now got to play like Gazza, never mind look like him!”
When pointed out by SunSport that he had now named two ‘Gazzas’ in his team, Seaman cheekily added: “Yeah exactly, but Jack’s a bit better looking than Gazza! Gazza’ll kill me for that!”
As one of England’s greatest keepers, Seaman knows a thing or two about what it takes to excel between the sticks with the Three Lions on your chest.
And despite Jordan Pickford enduring a mixed season during which he was dropped at times by Everton, Seaman has emphatically backed England’s at times maligned first choice.
He said: “In Jordan you’ve got a guy that, for me, is No1 by far. Because he’s got all that experience from the World Cup.
“He’s won a penalty shoot-out, at last! The last one was me 25 years ago!
“For me he’s a guy that reacts positively after he’s made a mistake. I’ve seen him make a mistake while at Everton early in the game, but then he’s gone on to make really match-winning saves and kept his team in it.
“He’s not one of these goalkeepers that makes a mistake and then crumbles. That’s what I like.”
Going into today’s match, Seaman is wary of underestimating Croatia, as many did in 2018.
But, given England’s quality, he also sees no reason to fear anyone this summer.
He concluded: “People are underestimating Croatia. They’re a great team, there’s no doubt about it.
“We’ve got history with them. It’s the first game of the tournament for us, it’s going to be tricky.
But when you look at the England team, you think ‘that team’s good enough to beat anybody’
David Seaman
Everybody’s thinking ‘yeah we’re gonna beat them and Scotland and that’ll be it and we’ll be through.’
“And I’m thinking ‘the Croatia game might be a little bit more difficult than you think, a little bit harder’.
“So we’ve got to be aware. But when you look at the England team, you think ‘that team’s good enough to beat anybody’.”
Seaman was speaking on behalf of William Hill.
Read our Football live blog for the very latest news from around the grounds