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Opinion: Aston Villa should not sign right-winger to replace Jack Grealish

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According to The Sun, Aston Villa want to sign Joe Lolley as a replacement for Jack Grealish, should the midfielder leave over the summer. Villa are fearful of losing their best players if they miss out on promotion, but Lolley wouldn’t be a good option if Grealish was to depart.

The Nottingham Forest winger doesn’t operate in the same position, nor does he provide the same threat as Grealish. It wouldn’t be a like-for-life replacement as a result, with Lolley spent the majority of the season out wide while Grealish plays a central role. That’s not to say Lolley wouldn’t be a good addition, however.

He’s been in fantastic form, scoring and creating 14 goals in 30 Championship games this season, but he’s rippled the back of the net only once since November and hasn’t made an assist since December 2018. Lolley only averages 26 passes-per-game to Grealish’s 48, completing 73% to Grealish’s 88%. They’re different players with different styles.

With Albert Adomah struggling for form, a player like Lolley wouldn’t be a bad option. But he’s not a like-for-like replacement for Grealish. Villa have struggled while the 23-year-old has been sidelined with a shin injury, so it would be imperative that they find another playmaker should he depart over the summer.

Crippy Cooke’s previous article

Opinion: New Aston Villa signing could be benched against Reading for 27-year-old

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Sports journalist who is an avid football fan, enjoys debunking transfer rumours, loves to write pieces about players out in the cold and takes a large amount of pride getting a predicted XI 100% correct.