Former Chelsea man Alan Hudson has called on the club to make a move for Aston Villa midfielder Jack Grealish after he has impressed in the Premier League this season.
The 24-year-old has seven goals and five assists in his 22 league appearances so far this campaign, leading to speculation that other clubs could take an interest in him either during the January transfer window or in the summer.
Chelsea sold Eden Hazard to Real Madrid at the end of last season, and having hit an inconsistent patch of form under Frank Lampard, Hudson has named Grealish as one player who would be able to replace the hole left by the Belgian.
"I am his biggest fan," Hudson said of Grealish (via CaughtOffside).
"Grealish is the most outstanding attacking midfield player in the game at this moment.
"A player who goes past people and scores goals. The bottom line is Chelsea haven’t got anyone since (Eden) Hazard left who has the fans on the edge of their seats.
"Jack Grealish would be that man."
However, Chelsea would have a lot of work to do should they wish to make a move for Grealish, with Villa boss Dean Smith insisting that the midfielder won't be sold during the window.
“I think he’s a big target for many teams and you can see why,” he said.
“He’s having his record goal-scoring season. He’s a top player and I’ve waxed lyrical about him very often.
“But as I’ve said before our owners are very ambitious in establishing us as a top Premier League football club and to do that you have to keep your best players.
“So we’ll be keeping hold of Jack Grealish. People can keep looking but they can’t touch.
“We want to keep our best players and he's obviously proving he’s one of the best players in the Premier League.”
