BARBERS in Birmingham have been kept busy over the years with requests from kids for a short-Jack-and-sides.
And there is set to be a new craze around Aston Villa’s poster boy in the city — England shirts with GREALISH on the back.
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Sir Stanley Matthews, Kevin Keegan and Bryan Robson all wore the No 7 for England.
But for Grealish, unsurprisingly, it is all about David Beckham.
Asked about being handed the same squad number as Golden Balls by boss Gareth Southgate, 25-year-old Grealish could not stop grinning.
The midfielder, who won his his sixth cap in Wednesday’s 1-0 friendly win over Austria, said: “What young lad didn’t look up to David Beckham?
“If I have half the career he had, then I’ll be over the moon.
“He had a lot of great moments but the goal against Greece to send England to the World Cup stands out.
“Every kid grew up looking up to him — I certainly did. The No 7 was a bit of an iconic number in England terms.
“So many great players have worn the shirt and, hopefully, I can follow in their footsteps and perform well in it.
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“When I got the No 7 shirt the other day, I got so many messages from family and friends saying they were going out straight away to buy a shirt.
“Since the start of the season, I said to myself that I wanted to get in the Euro squad. I have not shied away from saying how much I wanted to be in the squad.
“I had my aims with my club this season but my No 1 aim for the whole season was to get in the squad.
“Thankfully I’ve done it and, hopefully, I can be part of a good summer.
“In the last two or three years, everyone has talked about that summer of 2018 and the World Cup in Russia.
“I think that was one summer when Gareth and the lads brought the whole nation together, just from the way they played at that World Cup.”
Against Austria in Middlesbrough, wearing the No 10 shirt, the Villa superstar showed flashes of what he is capable of.
He will certainly have a big role for England during the tournament but as it stands, he will start on the substitutes’ bench.
But looking at the team’s run of injuries, that could change.
Equally, Grealish is an expert at how to deal with challenges as he continues to be constantly fouled.
Little wonder that his shins are always sore.
And he revealed winning free-kicks in the opponent’s area was first mentioned to him by former Villa manager Martin O’Neill.
Grealish added: “Martin O’Neill said to me, ‘You never, ever want to get kicked in your own half because there’s no point, you can’t do anything there.
“Try and get kicked around the edge of the box or in the box as much as possible’.
“I was a bit young and I thought, ‘Ah, OK’. But now I understand why. I’ll take the kicks to help my team. Definitely.
“There was one tackle against Austria, the first one, which really, really hurt.
“It was when Jesse Lingard gave me the ball on the left. That was one tackle that went on to my shin where I’ve been quite sore.
“Obviously, the way I play I’m going to get kicked all the time and I can’t really be running with the ball and thinking at the back of my head, ‘If I get kicked here, I’m one kick away from getting hurt’.
“So it’s one of those when if it ever happens it is part and parcel, it is what comes with the way I play.”
For some time, Three Lions manager Southgate was not sure about picking Grealish.
It was only an injury to Marcus Rashford in August which saw him get a late call-up for the Nations League matches in Iceland and Denmark.
Yet after failing to completely convince Southgate in his first couple of games, Grealish has taken his opportunities.
He will once again play some part against Romania at the Riverside on Sunday ahead of the Group D opener with Croatia seven days later.
During a major tournament, a player who starts on the bench can often become a major star.
Grealish could be that player.
And by next month, it might not just be Villa fans who have his name on a shirt.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
