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Troy Deeney has moved to defend Jack Grealish after the Aston Villa captain was spotted out during the coronavirus lockdown last weekend.

The Watford striker, who is close friends with Grealish, has also taken aim at Mason Mount after he was pictured playing football on the first weekend games were suspended.

Mount, though, wasn't out after Prime Minister Boris Johnson implemented lockdown measures like Grealish was.

Deeney, who swapped shirts with Grealish after Dean Smith's side lost at Vicarage Road in December, has been discussing why Grealish might have felt the need to go out despite putting a message out on social media advising fans against it.

The government are pushing a message to 'stay at home' as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to claim lives, with 3,605 now claimed by the virus.

The former Walsall striker was speaking to YouTube show The United Stand, discussing Grealish's subsequent apology and the backlash to his actions.

"Jack is my dude," Birmingham City fan Deeney began.

"Jack is my guy man, nice kid, unfortunately plays for that team that we don’t talk about.

"But Jack is my guy.

"Do you know what it showed to me, in a bigger conversation, this is what happens when you force people to do stuff for clubs.

"So him putting that video out, that’s not him doing that.

"The second video of him and you hear him going, 'I’m sorry', that’s him, because he’s saying he messed up there.

"This is it when it comes to social media now, clubs going: 'Post this, do that, do this, do that'.

"Genuinely if you’re a young person – and when I say this it’s not right – if you’re a young person, you are literally going, based off everything you’ve been told, 'this virus doesn’t really affect me, I’m fit and healthy I’m gonna go out'.

"It’s not the right way to think, I don’t think like that, but I can understand people that do.

"Until it affects home, why are you going to change?

"Not just with him but young people in general – do you think he’s the only one out?

"Mason Mount, the first week of it, he’s at Powerleague.

"And that went under the radar, no-one hammering him.

"He ain’t being forced to come out and do big apologies, he just went, 'Ah should have done better sorry.’"

Deeney added: "It’s a growth thing.

"I don’t envy being, what is he, 24?

"Making money, got no kids, what’s he going to do?

"Sit in the yard on his own?

Claret & Blue podcast Have you tried Claret & Blue, our podcast and YouTube channel? What are you waiting for?! Claret & Blue: An Aston Villa Podcast is available via the following platforms, subscribe and download here: iTunes, Spotify and Acast. Mat Kendrick, Ashley Preece, Dan Rolinson and James Rushton provide a fun-filled mixture of analysis, interviews, debate and, yes, a fair amount of nonsense! BirminghamLive has also launched its new YouTube channel to run alongside Claret & Blue. You can view our page - make sure you subscribe - by clicking here.

"Me at 25, you think this is stopping me from going out?

"Are you mad?

"And I had kids, but that’s just my mentality of how I was.

"So I just think he’s been irresponsible, he knows he’s been irresponsible, but I also think he’s a kid man.

"In football it’s: 'How dare you?'

"You make money, people watch you, people look up to you – but we didn’t ask for this, we didn’t ask for people to look up to us.

"We understand and appreciate the responsibility, but we’re going to make mistakes you know."