Grealish for England – by royal command

JACK Grealish has been set a royal challenge that he will relish - to earn a place in the England team.

Among those in the crowd at Villa Park on Tuesday was Prince William, who took up a seat in an executive box alongside claret and blue favourite John Carew.

The Prince popped into the dressing room before kick-off and Grealish, who has represented England at under-21 level, revealed the future king ’s international hopes for him.

“He’s obviously a fan,” said Grealish.

“He did say to me that he wants to see me in the England team soon, so obviously it was a good goal for me to score last night, knowing he was there.

“That’s what he said to me last night. “So I said ‘hopefully soon’. “That’s a long-term aim for me, and hopefully in the future I can go and do that.”

Prince William has supported Villa all his life and even passed on the claret and blue persuasion to his son, Prince George.

And Grealish admits he was surprised by the Duke of Cambridge’s Villa knowledge.

“To be fair I couldn’t believe how much interest he takes in Villa,” Grealish added.

“He came in before the game and he knew absolutely everyone, had a good chat with everyone as well and says how important the game was tonight.

“And luckily we went out there and done the business.

“Then he came in after and had a chat with everyone again and had a few pictures, he was really nice and he’s such a down-to-earth person.”