Jack Grealish has played a key role in Gareth Southgate's Euro 2020 team, helping our England heroes reach their first major final in 55 years.
He may have only played 36 minutes of the semi-final, but despite the boss' decision being criticised by some the Villa midfielder reportedly understood the decision.
He reportedly said: "Gaffer, it doesn’t matter. I’m not bothered. We’ve got to the final!"
But the move was criticised by viewers including Michael Owen, who tweeted: "Regardless of the result, bringing Jack Grealish off isn't my idea of a good decision.
"He is the perfect player in this situation to keep the ball, win free-kicks, run the clock down etc."
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Grealish's career has faced the normal ups and down, but one particularly challenging time was when he punched in the back of the head during the Second City Derby.
Spectator Paul Mitchell sprinted onto the pitch to confront him during a break in play.
The midfielder was knocked over under the impact of the shocking attack, less than ten minutes after kick-off, as his Villa teammates pulled the fan away and a steward tackled him to the ground.
Jack went on to score the winning goal against Birmingham following the attack, and a police officer was waiting for the fan as he was marched off the pitch, blowing kisses to the home fans inside the stadium.
Mitchell appeared in court the following day, where he was jailed, ordered to pay Jack £100 compensation, and banned from entering football grounds for ten years.
Chair of the bench Alison Fisher said: "This was an unprovoked attack on a footballer who was simply doing his job.
"It was a single punch but with enough force to knock Mr Grealish to the ground.
"This type of behaviour is unacceptable, a view shared by your own football club, who have banned you for life.
"Mr Grealish has stated he was shocked and scared and feels lucky it wasn't worse.
"More than 23,000 fans were in attendance and the incident was broadcast live across the country.
"Due to the nature of this incident, the court must send a message to fans that players like Jack Grealish are entitled to protection.
"This offence is so serious, we are sending you to prison for 14 weeks, and we are giving you a football banning order for ten years."
The attacker, a dad of one and a well known landlord in the nearby area, boasted that his month in prison was the 'best of his life' following his early release.
Mitchell admitted charges of assault and pitch encroachment and was sentenced at Birmingham Magistrates' Court, but according to Birmingham Live the 27-year-old was released just four weeks into his three-month prison term.
Mitchell spoke after his release: "I'm out of prison. I was released on Monday. Of course, I'm glad to be out. It was the best month of my life. It was hard being away from my family but everything was good."
Asked if he feels any regret, he added: "I'm not prepared to discuss that. I'm not apologising for nothing."
But Jack, who has been amassing a legion of female fans on TikTok since the Euros began, has not let the attack affect him.
And he wasn't a footballer then the midfield dynamo has admitted he would probably be spending his summer in the Love Island villa.
When asked how his life would otherwise had panned out in April, Jack confessed he would have been either a club promoter, DJ or contestant on the ITV2 dating show.
Jack certainly doesn't need any help finding romance at the minute as he's loved-up with girlfriend Sasha Attwood, 25, who he considers his "secret weapon" off of the pitch.
The couple were childhood sweethearts but briefly split up during a strained time in their relationship, which led to a rather awkward moment - ironically involving a Love Island star.
Jack and Sasha met as teenagers at St Peter's Roman Catholic Secondary School in Solihull, West Midlands.
But during their split, Jack was caught cheekily trying to slide into the DMs of Natalia Zoppa, who entered the villa as one of the Casa Amor bombshells during the Winter Love Island series last year.
Apparently, Jack attempted to get the model's attention by sending a waving hand emoji in a direct message.
However, her angry boyfriend Hass Saleh saw the message and released it publicly in a TikTok video which went viral.
"As if today couldn’t get any weirder, the best player in the Premier League tried to chat up my missus," said Natalia's boyfriend.
During the video, Saleh jokingly told Zoppa to send the Villa playmaker the link to her OnlyFans page.
He said: "Send him the OnlyFans link - he'll be a good tipper!"
But Natalia was not interested, replying: "I'm not going to send him the OnlyFans link!"
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