Matt Maher: Jack Grealish finally overcomes the first hurdle with Gareth Southgate

Brian Little, who knows a thing or two about being overlooked for international recognition, posted a three-word message on Twitter: "Carpe diem, Jack."

Grealish, you suspect, does not need telling that.

The circumstances of his first senior England call are unlikely to have made the moment any less special for the Solihull-born playmaker.

After all, this is what he has craved since making the decision nearly five years ago to pledge his international allegiance to the Three Lions.

Back then there was even speculation he might be included in the very next squad and in the intervening period barely an interview has passed without Grealish being asked about his England ambitions, even when Villa sat in the lower half of the Championship.

The wait has been a lengthy one. Just a week ago it looked likely to last a good deal longer still when he was once again overlooked by Gareth Southgate despite a career-best season in the Premier League.

No English player set up more chances than Grealish in the top flight last season. With the national team not exactly overburdened with creativity, it was tempting to wonder whether Southgate simply didn’t see him as part of his future plans.

But the football fates have a funny way of working and injuries to Harry Winks and Marcus Rashford mean Grealish now gets the chance he has been waiting for.

For him, the details are unimportant because this should not be seen as the end of a journey but instead the beginning. Earning a call-up has proved a significant hurdle, but it is only the first.

Over the next week, Grealish has the chance to make the case for long-term consideration in person to Southgate, both on and off the field. By next Tuesday, the aim will be to have the England manager admitting he was wrong to continually ignore Villa’s talisman.

Southgate is thought to have held long-standing reservations over Grealish’s character, but the man he will welcome into his squad this week is very different to the one he first encountered when in charge of the under-21s in 2016.

Grealish’s image is the type to invite preconceptions. Even Dean Smith has admitted to having them before finding a very different character to the one often advertised when he took charge of Villa in October 2018.

The truth is that from the moment Steve Bruce convinced him talent cannot flourish without graft, Grealish has developed into a committed and hard-working professional. His success last season owed much to his willingness to always go the extra mile.

Grealish is rarely satisfied and never stops working on his game, to the extent he has regularly been known to cram in extra sessions.

“I hope I have done enough to get a call-up but I also think I can perform better and that is the God’s honest truth,” Grealish told this newspaper back in February when asked about his England aspirations.

Southgate’s decision to originally leave the Premier League’s most creative English player out of his latest squad was at the very least questionable.

So too were the continued snubs of Wolves captain Conor Coady. Now, due to injury, both players will get their chance.

Little, who helped transform Southgate's own playing career when in charge at Villa, had to make do with an England career which consisted of just one 20-minute substitute appearance.

Carpe diem, Jack, indeed.