Notts County saw what was to come with Man City star - He starred in lesser-known Meadow Lane spell | OneFootball

Spending the 2013/14 season on loan at Notts County, Jack Grealish played his part in a great escape on the way to becoming a superstar.

Jack Grealish has risen to become one of the most recognisable names in English football, celebrated for his enigmatic style and game-changing flair.

However, for all of his fantastic work with Aston Villa to earn a £100 million move to Manchester City, his lesser-known spell with Notts County in the 2013/14 campaign laid the foundations for his career at the top level.

Scoring five goals and registering seven assists as the Magpies achieved League One safety on the final day, Grealish, then aged just 17 and 18 across the season, showed everything that would become synonymous with his footballing name.

Notts County saw what was to come with Jack Grealish

In the 2013/14 season, Grealish joined the club on a season-long loan from Aston Villa. Notts fought amid a League One relegation battle for large parts of the season, but it ended fantastically in a remarkable end to the campaign under boss Shaun Derry, in his first managerial position.

A 3-2 defeat away at Tranmere in March left the club eight points adrift of safety in League One, and former chairman Ray Trew had even called Derry to discuss the budget for League Two the following year. However, what followed was a remarkable run of form.

The Magpies secured six wins in eight matches heading into the final day, with Derry's side needing just a point to secure survival, and they did so against Oldham. Grealish played a hugely-influential role throughout all of this.

"I never thought I'd see anybody like him, but Jack is different," said Derry, speaking to Nottingham Post in 2021. "He single-handedly won games for us, whether he scored the goals, whether he created the goals, or whether he occupied two, three and four men in the area that left spaces for others to go and win the game for us. And when you think of how young he was, to do that was exceptional."

Ending the season with five goals and seven assists, Grealish made a fantastic contribution to what was a remarkable escape from relegation. Still just a teenager, his unbelievable grace was more-than-visible. The enigmatic forward was blessed with the ability to cause problems for even the most seasoned defenders in the third tier.

Jack Grealish went on to become a hometown hero at Aston Villa

Heading back to Aston Villa after a successful loan spell, Grealish was unable to hit consistent form during a tumultuous period for Villa, with the club's all-present Premier League period coming to an end in 2016.

With Villa rebuilding under Steve Bruce following Roberto Di Matteo's sacking in the Championship, Grealish exploded into life in the 2017/18 campaign, ahead of the club's eventual promotion back to the Premier League in 2019.

Grealish had become the undisputed star at Villa Park. Given a free role under Dean Smith, anything positive in the final third for Villa most likely came through Grealish. With his stunning volley against Derby County on his return from injury in March 2019, he dragged Villa back into form.

Going on a ten-match winning streak, Villa achieved a play-off finish with Jack Grealish at the heart of everything. His goal against arch-nemesis Birmingham City, following a horrific incident in which he was struck by a pitch-invading Blues supporter, continues to go down as one of the club's best moments in recent history, even among more recent European antics under Unai Emery.

In the Premier League, Grealish went on to star for the club, steering the club to safety following their top-flight return. Villa went on to achieve an 11th-place finish in 20/21, and as expected, Grealish was at the heart of it.

Ex-Notts County loanee went on to break British records

Carrying all the swagger seen during his spell in the East Midlands at 17, Grealish had become one of the Premier League's best and an England international.

It felt inevitable that Grealish would, at some point, play at the very top. And this would be the case following a record-breaking move to Manchester City in the summer of 2021.

In a £100 million switch, Grealish broke the British transfer record set by Paul Pogba in 2016 (£93.25m). And while he has never received the same 'free role' under Pep Guardiola, his achievements cannot be taken away.

Grealish played a fantastic part in City's remarkable treble-winning campaign in 2022/23, and has won three Premier League titles, an FA Cup, the UEFA Supercup, and the Club World Cup during his time in Manchester.

And now, despite him facing a crossroads in his career with links away, Jack Grealish will be known as one of the most unique and enigmatic talents produced in England's history.

Going on to become a star for Aston Villa, Manchester City and England, his marvellous loan spell with Notts County laid the foundations for a fantastic career. And Magpies supporters will never forget his seismic impact during the great escape of 2014.