Jack Grealish gave Prince William his shirt from Aston Villa’s win over Cardiff and received a royal decree on his England ambitions in return.
The Duke of Cambridge told Grealish he hoped to see the 22-year-old called up by Gareth Southgate in the near future.
Grealish scored a wonderful volley to earn Villa victory and keep alive faint prospects for automatic promotion to the Premier League.
Jack Grealish (left) says Prince William (centre) wants to see him playing for England soon
Prince William (left) was in attendance on Tuesday night as Aston Villa beat Cardiff 1-0
Grealish scored his side’s winning goal with a fine volley in the 85th minute
The heir to the throne, a well-known Villa fan, was in the stands alongside former striker John Carew and celebrated Grealish’s goal in front of the televisions cameras.
Afterwards Prince William went into the Villa dressing room and gave words of encouragement to Grealish, who has been capped at England Under-21 level.
‘He came in and said, “Well done”. I told him I picked a good game to score a goal like that,’ Grealish said. ‘He said he wants to see me in the England team soon. So hopefully soon, I can get there.
‘I think the World Cup is too soon but you never know what can happen in the future. At the moment my only thoughts are Villa. I’ve never wanted something so bad as to get this club back to where it belongs.’
Grealish then handed over the No 10 shirt he had worn when scoring his best goal of his career so far.
After the match, Prince William spoke positively with Grealish in the Villa dressing room
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