Daily Mail

BAD BOY GREALISH TO COME IN FROM COLD

- KIERAN GILL

JACK GREALISH will report for first-team training at Aston Villa today and attempt to persuade manager Roberto Di Matteo he is worth another chance. Grealish (right) was suspended for one match and fined £50,000 by his club after a late-night hotel party in Birmingham, as exclusivel­y revealed by

Sportsmail. The 21-year-old missed Saturday evening’s draw against Newcastle but should be back in the squad for tomorrow’s trip to Barnsley. ‘We’ve fined the boy and he was suspended,’ said Di Matteo. ‘Tomorrow he will be back with the group and available for selection. We’ll move on. That’s the end of the matter as far as the club is concerned. It’s not the first time but he needs to learn from the past. The only one who can do that is himself. We will try and support him but he needs to make the right decisions. ‘He is 21 now and he needs to understand what kind of career he’s got ahead of him. As long as he does what he’s supposed to do and he is part of the group, then we will treat him like everybody else.’ Di Matteo has other matters on his mind, namely how to win after six draws in seven matches. It could have been even worse against Newcastle as it took an 88th-minute header from Aaron Tshibola to cancel out Villa captain Tommy Elphick’s first-half own goal. Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez complained about his side not taking their chances but is still confident, as the club prepare to take on Championsh­ip tabletoppe­rs Norwich on Wednesday. ‘I have the same feeling that we can be there (towards the top at the end of the season),’ Benitez said. This was one Champions League-winning manager going up against another in the most expensive Football League fixture ever in terms of players on show. Villa’s starting line-up was worth £60.25million to Newcastle’s £63m.

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