Phillips shares 'really exciting' Aston Villa prediction after Cantwell latest
Kevin Phillips has claimed Aston Villa will not miss Jack Grealish as much as perhaps feared if they sign Todd Cantwell from Norwich City.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former Claret and Blues striker suggested fans could be reading headlines like "'Grealish, who?'" next season once all their signings are bedded in.
Grealish completed a move to Man City on Thursday for a British record £100million fee.
Football Insider on August 5th that the Midlands club have since stepped up their pursuit of Cantwell and are pushing hard to progress a deal.
According to Sky Sports (August 4th), it could cost upwards of £40million to secure the signature of the attacking midfielder.
When asked by Football Insider's Dylan Childs if Cantwell could replace Grealish, Phillips said: "Cantwell is a really exciting player.
"He travels with the ball really well and wins fouls, like Jack Grealish. He won't win as many but still.
"Grealish is in a different league to Cantwell but I have no doubt the kid could develop at Villa under Dean Smith and Craig Shakespeare.
"They have signed some really good players in Emi Buendia, Leon Bailey and Danny Ings. If he came in as well they are going to cause teams all sorts of problems next season.
"Of course, they will miss Jack Grealish but as the season goes on and the players adapt, I think everyone will be quite surprised by how Villa do.
"I don't think they'll miss Grealish as much as they fear. You can almost see the headlines now, 'Grealish who?'"