Both Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest have a lot of talented youngsters in their ranks, none more so than Jack Grealish and João Carvalho.
Both face each other today with the hope of maintaining their pursuit of the Championship leaders.
With that in mind, let’s compare these two transfers…
Jack Grealish
Grealish joined Aston Villa as a six-year-old, but little did the club know how much of a huge impact he would have.
He made his debut four seasons ago for the club, and since then has established himself as their best player. However, it has been a tumultuous few years, with the player’s attitude being called into question.
After a brilliant campaign for The Villans last season, it looked as though Grealish would be moving on, with Tottenham being his most likely destination. However, that never came to fruition, and he has remained with Villa this season during their struggles. Although, it does seem inevitable that he will be out the door in the near future.
Nonetheless, that does not stop Grealish being some fantastic business for The Villans, which could also be very lucrative for them.
TT Grade: A+
João Carvalho
Nottingham Forest signed Carvalho from Benfica for a club-record fee of £13.2m in the summer. It was part of a summer defined by recruitment by The Reds, but the 21-year-old was their marquee signing.
Since joining, he has proven why Forest were so keen to splash the cash for the midfielder, featuring in every league game for The Reds, bagging two goals and six assists in the process. In fact, he leads the charts with two others for assists in the Championship so far this season.
The Portuguese clearly looks to be a favourite of manager Aitor Karanka’s this season, and if Nottingham Forest are to have any success, Carvalho will be a key figure.
TT Grade: A
TT Verdict:
Where both players are roughly the same age, these transfers can be judged on three things: price, potential and performance.
While Carvalho was a record fee for Forest, Villa effectively got Grealish for free by developing him through their academy. While this strictly means that he isn’t a transfer, it is still better business by The Lions.
In terms of potential, both players are highly thought of. But the fact that Grealish was sought after by some of England’s biggest clubs suggests he has just that bit more potential than his Portuguese rival.
In terms of performances, Grealish has shown the higher level of performance over the past few seasons, however, based on this season alone, Carvalho appears to be playing better.
But when evaluating both players, Grealish has to win this battle.
