Steve Bruce: Aston Villa is the best place for Jack Grealish to grow

Grealish will on Saturday aim for a fairytale finish to his best campaign to date when Villa take on Fulham at Wembley for a place in the Premier League.

The 22-year-old has earned rave reviews for his performances since returning from a serious kidney injury and Bruce anticipates there may be interest from elsewhere this summer.

But he believes Grealish would be best served staying at his boyhood club.

“For me another year would be the best thing for him whatever league we are in,” said the boss.

“I practically tried to build the team around him. Unfortunately, he got injured.

“Whether there are bids, I would not be surprised. If anyone has watched us since Christmas, he has been outstanding.

“I think he just has to be careful. I hope he has got a trust in me, where, if he does have to move on, the timing has to be right for both parties.

“Let’s hope we can be in the Premier League. I would rather have it we can give him everything he needs. Yes, everyone wants to play in the Premier League. But he is only 22, he still has a lot to offer.

“I hope we can give him the platform in the years to come. He’s a mad Villa fan, his family are Villa through and through so let’s hope it can be positive for everybody.”

Bruce has managed to coax the best out of Grealish, who for a long time struggled to live up to his undoubted potential after bursting onto the scene in Villa’s 2-1 FA Cup semi-final win over Liverpool three years ago.

The injury, sustained during the club’s final pre-season friendly against Watford last July, is now seen as a watershed moment. Grealish needed emergency surgery after his kidney was split in two places and missed the first three months of the season.

“It focused him on what he is,” said Bruce.

Midfielder Mile Jedinak was the first team-mate to visit Grealish in hospital and has witnessed first hand the growing maturity.

“He is looking for guidance from everyone around and people have been providing that which has been great,” said Jedinak.

“I look at Jack just recently over the play-off semi-final with Middlesbrough. Up there that shift he put in, he was tremendous. He put in tackles I didn’t think he was capable of.

“I thought: ‘What has someone done to you that you want to kick them? Normally it is me doing that for you!’

“That just shows to me how far he has come and how big he has grown and how much he has matured.

“This is his club through and through. He bleeds claret and blue. To have that sort of reception and to get to this point now would mean more to him than many people would give him credit for.”