Every so often, English football fans and members of the media decide to fawn over one of their players. Sometimes with good reason, other times the hype gets so out of hand it is comical.
The current flavour of the month is Jack Grealish, formerly of this parish. The Aston Villa man has been in rich vein of form as of late, producing some wonderful displays. With his side struggling at the bottom of the table he is quickly playing himself into a move away from the club.
There is no doubting his talent. Grealish is excellent footballer, technically proficient and capable of producing a moment of magic.
Still, some of the praise he has received has unsurprisingly been a bit over the top. One such example is what was said by Andy Gray, someone never really known for his measured or considered opinions on football.
On beIN SPORTS last weekend, he was waxing lyrical about the player, speaking about him in a manner that is usually reserved for the very top players in the sport.
He claimed that Grealish would improve any of the big six clubs in England, even going as far to say that he is better than any of the midfielders currently on the books at runaway league leaders Liverpool.
His mate Richard Keys suggested this was an indisputable fact.
Gray: If I was a coach of any of the top six, and I include Liverpool in this, he would make their team better. I'm telling you.
In my opinion, he's better than any of Liverpool's midfield players.
Keys: When you think about it, in terms of individual talent, he is.
Peter Reid, quickly realising what he had let himself in for by agreeing to sit between that pair on a television broadcast, pushed back at the idea.
He reminded them that there is more than one type of midfield player, and to suggest he is better than every player at Liverpool is pushing the boat out a bit too far.
After all, this is a player who is 24-years old and has yet to earn an England cap at senior level. He hasn't even made a squad under Gareth Southgate. Compare that to the level of experience in the Liverpool team and you can see where there might be an issue.
Georgino Wijnaldum was nominated for the Ballon d'Or last year, Jordan Henderson has been Liverpool captain for nearly five years and has 55 caps for his country, Fabinho is regarded as one of the best holding midfielders in world football. The list goes on.
Despite these seemingly obvious comparisons, Gray doubled down:
I think he's better than Keita, I think he's better than Wijnaldum. I do. In my opinion, he is better than them.
I think he would get into the City side...
When you watch somebody on a football pitch and he has a football at his feet, special players stand out. He might make mistakes, but he's still learning.
The ball is almost part of his body at times, he moves with it beautifully. He's got a goal in him, he creates things for other players.
He also suggested he is worth far more than the £80million Manchester United forked out to sign Harry Maguire. Maybe they should see if he can get into the England squad before inferring that he is one of the best players in world football.
