HOW many current Premier League players can us fans actually relate to?

It’s all private jets on Instagram, million pound motors and superfood smoothies. Mind you, it’s been that way for years.

The only one who springs to mind is Jack Grealish – but his likeable personality and relatability as a normal, flawed bloke has played a big part in his downfall.

He was dropped from the Everton squad last week after he was found to have had back-to-back nights on the sauce in London and Cheshire and he again won’t be involved against Coventry on Friday.

Grealish likes to enjoy himself and it’s not exactly a state secret he’s partial to a drink. If he’d been born in the 1970s, people would have turned a blind eye.

In truth it’s a good thing the world and sport has moved on, as we saw the dreadful consequences a boozy football culture had on the likes of Paul Gascoigne.

There just isn’t room for that sort of behaviour in top-level football anymore. The physical demands are so great, and scrutiny so intense, that you can’t get away with a night down the pub.

All it takes is someone spotting you sinking a few beers, or belting out a tune at a karaoke bar, and a video will be all over social media. There is undoubtedly a touch of Gazza about Grealish.

He is a free spirit and a great character, and when he broke through at Aston Villa he won fans across the footballing spectrum.

But he is running out of lives in English football and, even though it has been littered with trophies, it feels like the second half of his career has been something of a waste.

Grealish himself would laugh at the suggestion, given he has three Prem winners’ medals and is taking home £300,000 a week, but the move to Manchester City was the beginning of the downward spiral.

The moment he arrived at the Etihad, Pep Guardiola set about moulding him into a completely different player, shoehorning him into his rigid system.

Grealish was at his very best at Villa when he was given free-rein as a No10.

He was so influential for his boyhood club, brilliant to watch and virtually single-handedly kept them up in 2020. At City under Pep, he became just another robot in sky blue.

Effective as part of a relentless machine, sure, but stripped of the flair and joy that made him so exciting – it was like putting a straitjacket on Freddie Mercury.

He only started 17 games in the league across his final two seasons in Manchester, and getting out of there last summer was the best thing he could have done.

There were glimpses of the old Grealish during his first loan to Everton last season, and if he hadn’t picked up an injury he may well have helped the Toffees qualify for Europe.

But he’s had his issues off the pitch in the past and he’s taken another backward step at a time in his career when he simply can’t afford to.

Thomas Tuchel will announce his squad for next week’s international break on Friday. Grealish hasn’t been picked for England since 2024 and, now he’s on the wrong side of 30, he never will be again.

A decade ago he looked nailed on to be an integral part of the Three Lions’ future. It never really panned out that way.

‘Leaves a bitter taste’

If any manager will be willing to give him another chance and welcome him back into the fold, it’s David Moyes. But if he can’t put things right over the next few months, where does he go?

His time at City is over, and who’ll want him if he’s rejected by Everton? Six years ago he was one of the most exciting English talents we’ve seen in years. Now his future is up in the air, and it leaves a bitter taste.

IT’S surely a matter of time before a big Premier League club comes sniffing for Cesc Fabregas.

Como have wealthy owners, some of the richest in football in fact, but he has done an incredible job turning the tiny Italian club into a Champions League force.

And they are playing incredible football, thumping RB Leipzig as well as Manchester United and putting nine past Lens on Wednesday.

Fabregas is a shareholder in the club, and no doubt enjoys living in one of the most beautiful spots in Europe.

But the Prem will come calling sooner or later – for his sake, let’s hope it isn’t United who offer him a job.

I CAN’T be the only one who is surprised at Oliver Glasner’s miserable start at Nottingham Forest.

Wherever he has managed he has done a blinding job, and he guided Crystal Palace through the greatest spell in their history.

But Forest have been an absolute shower so far this season. They’ve not been solid at the back and they don’t look like scoring goals.

Given owner Evangelos Marinakis has one of the itchiest trigger fingers in the Prem, Glasner badly needs a result against City this weekend.

Aint’ no stopping

THERE is no stopping champion jockey Billy Loughnane, whose epic year keeps getting better.

I’m just back from the Breeders’ Cup where he managed to get down to his lowest weight since he was a kid to ride Libertango, and he gave her a peach of a ride to win.

And just a few days later it was announced he was being hired by Flat racing giants Godolphin as a retained jockey.

The writing is now on the wall for William Buick, who has been Godolphin No1 for the last 11 years, but Loughnane is simply an irresistible force.