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Jack Grealish is learning at the school of hard Notts.

If sending young players out on loan to the lower leagues is all about toughening them up for the demands of professional football, then his spell at Notts County is turning 18-year-old Grealish from a wonder boy to a man.

Paul Lambert usually stops just short of accusing academy football of producing cosseted, pampered players, but for the Villa manager there is no substitute for playing proper men’s football and competing for a cause as preparation for the Premier League.

With that in mind Grealish should wear his bruises as a badge of honour the next time the Brummie prodigy discusses with Lambert where he stands in Villa’s plans for next season.

Grealish has been kicked, whacked and hurt in places he didn’t even know there were places (and we don’t just mean Stevenage away) by opponents unsure how else to deal with the twinkle-toed teenager during the brutal League One relegation battle.

But Grealish has relished it.

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Rather than feeling sorry for himself, he has rolled up his socks – half way up his shins at least – and resolved to beat his physical foes with his ability, attitude and own aggression.

Leigh Curtis, a football journalist with the Nottingham Post, recently kicked off a column with the introduction: “As much as it has been delightful to watch Jack Grealish’s undeniable brilliance there have been times we have done so through splayed fingers.

“The winger’s Houdini-like ability to escape impossible situations has tortured many defenders in recent weeks and their only way to stop him has been through nefarious means.

“There is growing concern, however, that he is being deliberately targeted and it would be a very hard case to argue against given recent evidence.”

Curtis went on to call for more protection from referees for Grealish – but the wiry-framed wideboy isn’t fazed by being roughed up.

He has scored five goals – the first of which, a screamer in a win over Gillingham in December, prompted an emotional celebration when he sought out Villa fanatic father Kevin in the stands to share the moment with a hug.

And six bookings from his 27 appearances so far suggest that Grealish is prepared to give as good as he gets, although the cautions were generally a result of a competitive streak rather than any vigilante quest for justice.

Grealish admits the muck and nettles of life in League One – County are still bottom ahead of tomorrow’s clash against title-chasing Leyton Orient – has been in stark contrast to the privileges of Bodymoor Heath.

Speaking ahead of Ireland under-21s’ defeat to Montenegro in Dublin on Wednesday, he said: “I’ve been given plenty of perspective about football.

“It’s the little stuff like the difference in how we’re treated. At Villa, there’s a swimming pool with all the best modern facilities.

“At Notts County, however, they don’t even have a football training ground. We train at a hockey school, which shows you how much you should want it. Every day we have to travel to the stadium in our cars and shower there. It’s a massive change.

“We’re back on the bottom after getting ourselves up to 16th place at one stage. This relegation battle is starting to affect the lads because most of them are out of contract in the summer and it’s hard for them to take. We just have to try to keep ourselves up, but I believe we’re capable of doing that.”

Grealish has a wise head on young shoulders. Colin Slater, a broadcaster with BBC Nottingham – so ingrained in County after almost 50 years covering them that he was recently inducted into their hall of fame – has been impressed with Grealish on and off the field.

Slater told the Birmingham Mail he expected the player’s precocious talent to be accompanied by a cocky swagger or the nervous mumblings of a shy schoolboy. Instead, he was greeted by a polite and respectful young man confident enough to express an opinion.

“He is a very impressive young man in many aspects – Aston Villa have a real talent on their hands and Notts County have been very lucky to borrow him,” said Slater. “He has been likened to a young Chris Waddle because of his slight build and trickiness.”

There is a buzz about Grealish in the black and white half of Nottingham and even if he is unable to rescue Shaun Derry’s men from the dreaded drop, then his contribution will have been a silver lining in a cloudy season.

In Ireland, too, he is being talked about in excited tones. He is now on the radar of international Martin O’Neill who, despite souring his relationship with Villa, certainly knew a talented winger when he saw one, as his captures of Ashley Young, James Milner and Stewart Downing proved.

Villa are obviously paying close attention to the progress the former pupil of St Peter’s School, Solihull, has made during his season-long loan with the Magpies. Grealish was 16 when he was first included in a matchday squad by Alex McLeish, spending the 4-2 home defeat to Chelsea in March 2012 as an unused substitute. He made his senior debut in a draw at Wycombe last summer and scored his first goal in a friendly win at Walsall.

It must surely only be a matter of time before a player with the unpredictability to change games is handed his competitive Villa bow. Until Marc Albrighton’s recent revival, Lambert’s team have been lacking in wide areas and Grealish, who is claret and blue through and through (so much so that loan interest from Blues was quickly dismissed with a smile) would be afforded more goodwill and patience than slow-to-settle Alexandar Tonev.

It makes sense for Grealish to finish what he has started at County during the current campaign but even if he is dipped in and out and used sparingly by Villa next season, the signs are that he has the talent and temperament to shine for his parent club next season.