Emiliano Martinez has claimed that Jack Grealish 's departure has had a major impact on Aston Villa's 'inconsistent' season but admitted the England international needed to leave the West Midlands side.
The 26-year-old departed his boyhood club to join Manchester City last summer for a fee in the region of £100million, after progressing through the ranks at Villa. Grealish scored seven goals and grabbed 12 assists in his final season at the Villains as he helped his side to an 11th-place finish in the Premier League.
This was after scoring the goal to keep Villa in the top-flight in July 2020 with an emphatic equaliser at West Ham United - one of 10 he netted that season as he won the club's Player of the Year award. He was also part of the side that won the Championship play-off final with a 2-1 victory over Derby County.
Pep Guardiola has always spoken highly of Grealish and he decided to finally make a move for him in the summer, becoming the most expensive Premier League player of all-time. Following his departure, Martinez has admitted that Villa have struggled in his absence as they try and find a solution under Steven Gerrard.
He told GOAL : "He was the best player we had. He was outstanding last season but we understood he needed to make that step. The signings we made were really positive but they needed time to adapt.
"You can see now at the end of the season the inconsistency as well because we have a new manager, a new philosophy. Next season, we will know what to do. It has been difficult inside (the club) but we have been very positive and we have double figures in clean sheets now."
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Villa currently sit 15th in the Premier League, having failed to win any of their last five matches. However, a 0-0 draw at Leicester City on the weekend stopped the rot as they try and finish the season on a high.
Gerrard's appointment to Villa brought change after Dean Smith was sacked following three years at the club. During his time at Villa Park, the former Liverpool midfielder has won eight of his 22 matches in charge, drawing three.
Martinez added: "Obviously there has been investment at the club and everyone expected us to be top eight or top seven but it is difficult when there are so many changes in one season. We have been inconsistent but we have to realise we sold Jack, a home-grown player and the best we had at Villa.
"We have had to rebuild and find new players but they need time to adapt. We changed the manager in mid-season too, with a new philosophy. It isn’t as easy as it looks."
