Ashley Cole has compared Jack Grealish to Real Madrid winger Eden Hazard just days after the Aston Villa man was touted for a move to the Spanish giants.

Making his first competitive start for the Three Lions in the Nations League on Sunday night, the Villa captain produced a man of the match performance against Roberto Martinez’s side.

Following the match, which ended 2-0 to Belgium and ended England’s chances of qualifying for the Nations League finals, Grealish was subject to glowing praise from pundits as well as his national team manager Gareth Southgate.

One player absent from the game was Belgian maestro Hazard, who recently tested positive for Covid, but former England defender Cole opted to compare the two.

Working as a pundit on the match for Sky Sports, he said [via Birmingham Live]: “Grealish was pulling the strings and running the show. When you talk about little magicians who can win you games, he’s one of them.

“Grealish should go to the Euros if he keeps producing the quality he’s currently producing.

“He’s got that Hazard quality, he can beat players left and right, can get fouls for Mason [Mount] and Harry [Kane] to take free kicks. He will win England points.”

The former left-back’s comments come after former Arsenal striker Kevin Campbell tipped the 25-year-old for a move to a La Liga superpower, telling Football Insider: “On that performance the other night I think Real Madrid and Barcelona will be looking at him.”

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Real Madrid… that level of interest in Jack Grealish should not come as a surprise, given the strides he has made over the last 12 months.

The England international has developed into one of the most exciting and unpredictable players in the Premier League and you would expect a whole host of major European clubs to show interest based on his form for club and country.