England 1-0 Croatia LIVE Mings stars in Euro 2020 win as Grealish left on bench

The Jack Grealish story

Fuelled by balti curries and battle-hardened by Gaelic football – that was the boyhood Jack Grealish, a little lad destined to star for club and country.

Grealish, who has been tipped to light up the Euros for England this month and hopefully next too, was still at primary school when Aston Villa first came knocking, with devoted dad Kevin chauffeuring him round for sporting commitments here there and everywhere.

All these years on and Grealish still brings a child-like wonder to his athletic achievements with his old man as dedicated as ever to providing as much support as he can to Super Jack.

Back in the noughties, Grealish loved GAA and represented John Mitchels in Dorridge, Solihull. The sport, according to Kevin, toughened him up and developed his trademark knack of dealing with the bruising treatment he routinely receives from opponents in the more common form of football he is now internationally famous for.

Jack Grealish in action for Aston Villa as a teenager (Image: Tony Marshall/Getty Images)

The most fouled player in the Premier League can expect plenty of rough and tumble attention during Euro 2020, but his boyhood Gaelic grounding makes him well equipped to get back up for more.

“He’d run the show playing Gaelic,” Kevin told BirminghamLive. “It really helped him because he was knocked from pillar to post. It’s brutal compared to soccer. Jack, as you know, is good with his feet but you can pick the ball up as well and he’d flick it around everyone!”

More here from Grealish Snr.