“Top lad, humble” – Aston Villa’s Emi Martinez chooses between Manchester City forward Jack Grealish and Philippe Coutinho
Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez believes both on-loan Villans midfielder Philippe Coutinho and Manchester City forward Jack Grealish are "amazing" players.
Martinez was asked to choose between the two players by Watford goalkeeper Ben Foster on Amazon Prime Video's YouTube Channel. Though he has played with both of them, the Argentine was unable to come up with a definitive answer.
Martinez instead replied to Foster's question by saying (as quoted by The Boot Room):
“That’s a tough one, they’re both amazing. Jack was on fire last season but Phil is unreal. I did an interview last season saying Jack Grealish is Messi with a right foot. (But) when I see Phil turning, wow!”
#AVFC"Phil is unreal." 👀 #AVFC
birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football…
Grealish notably left Villa Park last summer on a deal worth almost £100 million to join Manchester City.
With Grealish departing, Coutinho could have helped Villa fight for a top-seven spot had he joined the club earlier, feels Martinez.
On this, he said:
“When we lost Jack last season, he was the best player. I thought (to myself after Coutinho joined Villa): ‘Actually, if we signed Phil early on in the season, we’d be fighting (for) top seven’.”
Martinez concluded by praising his Aston Villa teammate, stating:
“The best Phil, you will see later in the season. Top lad, humble!”
How have Aston Villa's Coutinho and Manchester City's Grealish performed this season?
Coutinho joined Aston Villa on loan from Barcelona in the winter transfer window. The Brazilian hit the ground running, registering a goal and assist during Villa's 2-2 comeback draw against Manchester United in the Premier League on January 15.
Overall, the 29-year-old has recorded three goals and three assists in seven league fixtures for Aston Villa. Interestingly, he scored just twice in 12 La Liga matches for Barcelona before his loan move.
Coutinho has averaged a goal or an assist every 86.83 minutes for Steven Gerrard's side.
#AVFC 
Steven Gerrard would love to keep Philippe Coutinho at Aston Villa. Buy option clause available for €40m - board wants to wait until May and then make final decision, while they're happy with Coutinho. 🇧🇷 #AVFC
Barcelona wan sell Coutinho - they're waiting for Villa to decide. https://t.co/51kfssXwuf
Meanwhile, Grealish has endured a tough start to life at Manchester City. Having signed in the summer, he has been in and out of the team. The Englishman has started just 16 of the Citizens' 28 league matches this term, recording two goals and two assists.
Grealish has also managed just a goal and an assist apiece in five UEFA Champions League matches. Overall, he's found the back of the net only four times and has laid out three assists in 27 appearances across all competitions for Manchester City.
However, there is optimism that Grealish will come good as there have been visible improvements in his game of late.