Gareth Southgate: Jack Grealish needs to be playing in Premier League to earn England call-up

That is the view of England manager Gareth Southgate, who was questioned about the Villa midfielder’s chances of stepping up from the under-21s, where he has won seven caps.

Grealish, who switched from the Republic of Ireland to England in 2015, is yet to make his senior bow – but is hopeful a late-season surge with Villa could help him return to the top flight of English football for the first time in three years.

“Although we can see the quality, when the evidence of the opponent is a different level, that’s where it’s hard to directly correlate what that’s going to look like at a level above,” said Southgate, who worked briefly with Grealish in the under-21s.

“With Callum (Hudson-Odoi), he’s playing Europa League, he’s playing Premier League – that does make a difference.

“I’m not going to say we won’t pick a player from the Championship because that could happen, but it’s far more difficult to assess his level.

“You see certain parts of the game, but not others (in the Championship). Not the physicality at times, nor the tactical discipline. That’s another level in the Premier League – the speed, the pace.

“He’s a player we know all about, he’s a player we track, but that last bit of evidence that could give you confidence to pick him at the moment we won’t see.

“But as an ex-Villa man I hope it’s not too long before we do see it.”