Man Utd must be kicking themselves for not landing Jack Grealish this summer, believes Paul Ince

Manchester United must be kicking themselves for not signing Jack Grealish this summer, says Paul Ince – after they failed to move for him before England’s latest star signed a new Aston Villa deal that has seen his value shoot up even higher

  • Jack Grealish was linked with a move to Manchester United in the summer
  • A deal never materialised and Paul Ince says United must regret not signing him
  • The midfielder has been a standout performer for Aston Villa and England
  • Ince can see similarities between Grealish and ex-England ace Paul Gascoigne
  • You can see the full interview in today’s Gary Newbon Sports Show at 1pm

Manchester United must be regretting their failure to sign Jack Grealish this summer, claims Paul Ince.

Grealish has earned huge plaudits for his blistering start to the season with Aston Villa and is becoming an increasingly influential member of the England team after shining against Belgium last week and starting the 4-0 win over Iceland on Wednesday.

Ince believes United missed a trick by not pushing ahead with an £80million deal for the 25-year-old back in the summer and are being made to pay for the mistake now with Grealish in such fine form for club and country.

Paul Ince believes Man United must regret their failure to sign England star Jack Grealish now

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer identified Grealish as a target but United never pushed ahead with a deal

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer identified Grealish as a target but United never pushed ahead with a deal

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had made him one of his key targets but Grealish ended up signing a new five-year deal with Villa worth £135,000 per week to scupper United’s hopes of landing him and boost his value even more.

The midfielder is being tipped to develop into a star player for Gareth Southgate’s England side by Ince, who also admitted he can see similarities in the Villa man’s game with his former international team-mate Paul Gascoigne. 

Grealish has been in inspirational form of late, scoring four goals and assisting six more in just seven games so far this season, and firing Villa into sixth in the Premier League. He also won rave reviews for his displays over the international break and is starting to draw comparisons to Gazza, who was one of England’s most skilful and creative players ever.

Speaking on the Gary Newbon Sports show on Punching.TV, the ex-United star said of the comparisons: ‘I don’t like it when people parallel you with someone else but I know people will. I know Bryan Robson said something the other day about Gazza and Jack Grealish, I mean Jack has done well and to be fair he has been brilliant for Villa. 

‘When Villa nearly went down last season I thought he was going to move on to another club, I know Tottenham were keen to take him and Manchester United. I bet they wish they took him now because he’s been absolutely sensational. 

Ince has been impressed with Grealish and is backing him to become a star player for England

Ince has been impressed with Grealish and is backing him to become a star player for England

25-year-old Grealish has made a blistering start to the season, firing Aston Villa into sixth

25-year-old Grealish has made a blistering start to the season, firing Aston Villa into sixth

‘Jack’s his own player, he’s grown into his game, the way he carries the ball, he’s got great balance. Does it remind me of Gazza? Yes and no, I wouldn’t like to compare the two.

‘You’re right that Jack’s got a long way to go but he certainly looks that type of player, the way he sets people up and he’s got two good feet and he’s got great balance and a great touch but he’s got a long way to go before we start connecting him with Paul Gascoigne that’s for sure.

‘Gazza could control a game and dictate a game. He would play a game at his own pace and he would decide whether to be in gear one, two, three, four or five and I think you do see that with Jack Grealish at times, he will decide when he needs to step up a gear and he will be get better as he gets older. 

‘But the thing is with Gazza, people would man mark him or double mark him and it wouldn’t be a problem. Eventually people will look at Jack Grealish and see him as a threat in the England team and it’s how he deals with that.’

Ince admitted he can see similarities between Grealish and his ex-England pal Paul Gascoigne

Ince admitted he can see similarities between Grealish and his ex-England pal Paul Gascoigne

The former United man however said he wants to see Grealish 'stay on his feet a bit more'

The former United man however said he wants to see Grealish ‘stay on his feet a bit more’

Ince, who earned 53 England caps during a career which spanned across two decades, did have one criticism of Grealish though.

‘The only thing about Jack is I wish he’d stay on his feet a bit more. That’s the only kind of negative thing I’d say about Jack because sometimes he gets a touch and he goes flying,’ he added.

‘The amount of tackles Gazza used to ride, people used to kick him and trip his feet and I would love to see Jack do that a bit more. That’s the only thing, apart from that Jack is a wonderful player and it’s amazing how long it took him to get into the England side, at times he couldn’t even get in the squad but now he’s a regular and doing really well.’ 

The Gary Newbon Sports Show, with @Punching.TV, and in association with MailOnline Sport, will be streamed live every Thursday #GNSS.