Ipswich Town have signed Hull City centre-back Jacob Greaves. Stuart Watson takes a look at his career to date...
HULL IS HOME
Leaving his hometown club will be a big deal for Jacob Greaves. The club is in his blood.
Father Mark was born in Hull and played 177 times for the Tigers as a defender/midfielder between 1996 and 2002. It was during that period - September 12, 2000, to be exact - that Jacob was born.
At the age of eight, he was snapped up by the East Yorkshire club’s academy and soon had a season ticket at a club that would play Premier League football for five of the next eight seasons.
Speaking in 2019, he said: “The person I've always looked up to is my dad really, growing up watching him play football at Boston.
"Him playing centre-half has helped me improve my overall positioning. He would practice headers with me and he tells me after games what I can improve on and what I’ve done well on. He is a big believer of talking through your positives, he has been a big help to me."
“It would obviously be a great achievement for me and my family to follow him and play for Hull. To play for Hull would be a dream. Every Hull lad would love to do that, as your hometown club."
HAILED AS ‘SPECIAL’
As Ipswich were getting relegated from the Championship in 2018/19, Greaves was captaining Hull’s Under-18s and making the odd appearance for their U23s.
He signed a one-year professional deal in April 2019 under the management of Nigel Adkins, then quickly made an impression on newly appointed boss Grant McCann during the pre-season that followed.
“The kid is going to be special, it’s as simple as that,” enthused McCann.
“Ideally for us we’ll get him out into men’s football. No disrespect to the Under-23s leagues but getting knocked about a bit will help him.
“We saw him against Amiens (in a friendly) look very comfortable. And that was on the right of a two and he’s left-footed. That just shows the type of player he is.”
It wasn’t long after those comments that Greaves signed a fresh three-year deal at the KC Stadium before soon being loaned out to League Two outfit Cheltenham Town.
The link was that Robins’ boss Michael Duff had been a team-mate of McCann’s for Northern Ireland.
GETTING DUFFED UP
Funnily enough, Greaves chose to sing Ed Sheeran’s ‘A Team’ as his initiation song at Cheltenham.
He then hit the ground running in Gloucester, being named the EFL’s Young Player of the Month for September as the team propelled themselves to within two points of the summit. He later picked up the club's Player of the Month award for December.
On working with former Burnley defender Duff, he said: “It's great that I've come here with an ex-Premier League centre-back who talks to me about what I need to improve on and what I'm doing well.
"I like how he works. Everything is done right. He wants everyone's standards to stay high and if anyone drops below that you'll know because they won't be in the team.
"When we first spoke, he told me he'd watched all my games. When we met, he set a TV up and went through what he wants from a left-sided centre-half. To work with someone like him is great and it's only going to bring me on as a player.”
Hull boss McCann revealed that ‘five or six’ League One clubs showed an interest in taking Greaves by the time January came around, but ultimately it was decided that it was best for him to continue his development at Whaddon Road.
When the campaign was curtailed by Covid come March, Cheltenham were awarded a fourth-place finish on points per game. They went on to lose to Northampton over a two-legged play-off semi-final in June, with Greaves an unused sub for both those games.
“That loan made me the player I am today in being able to deal with aggressive, tall, different centre-forwards,” he recently reflected. “I learned my trade at 18, which is young for a centre-half, and that’s benefited me.”
TITLE WINNER
When Greaves returned to Hull they had just been relegated from the Championship. Opportunity knocked.
He made his senior debut in an EFL Trophy home defeat to Leicester’s U21s. The following month, he was thrown straight into the starting XI for a 3-0 League One win at Rochdale and never looked back.
“He’s come in and looked very assured, in and out of possession,” said McCann.
“He won 100% of his duels against Wimbledon; out of 12 duels, he won every single one, which is phenomenal. He’s been brilliant in the two games.
“He’s very calm on the ball. He knows when to step up. He knows when to hit the diagonal. He knows when to give it simple to a full-back or midfield player.
“He’s aggressive in his defending. He’s not afraid to put his body in. His header in the last couple of minutes against AFC Wimbledon showed you everything about Jacob defensively; the ball came in, he put his body on the line and flicked it past the post.
“He’s only a young player and he’s still learning but he’s in the right environment to get better. He's got all the capabilities to have a tremendous career."
Hull went on to pip Peterborough to the League One title in that behind-closed-doors campaign. Greaves started 41 games across all competitions, playing in a backline that included former Ipswich full-backs Josh Emmanuel and Callum Elder.
KICKING ON
Duff’s previous prediction that Greaves would be a Championship regular within 18 months to two years proved to be correct. The young centre-back started all 46 games as Hull finished 19th on their return to the second tier
"For a player aged just 21 in his first campaign at Championship level, in a newly-promoted team, Greaves has been nothing short of brilliant at the heart of the Tigers' defence," wrote Hull Daily Mail reporter Barry Cooper.
"Yes, he's made mistakes, of course he has. It's been a tough learning curve, but the way he's carried himself throughout shows what a talent he is."
Shota Arveladze had replaced McCann midway through that difficult campaign, but the Georgian was sacked just 10 games into the following season. That paved the way for Liam Rosenior to take charge.
“I was buzzing that he got the job because he was an ex-Hull City player that I used to watch - I’ve got a photo with him from when I was 13 or 14,” said Greaves, in an interview with The Athletic.
Greaves made 40 league starts as Hull ground out an improved 15th place finish, then started 43 league games as the Tigers, playing a more attractive brand of football, narrowly missed out on a play-off spot last season.
For the third season in a row, he was named the club’s Young Player of the Season. He was also named in the Championship Team of the Year.
“This is probably the style of play I’ve enjoyed most in my career,” said Greaves, speaking in March.
“This type of football is something that you want to be a part of — keeping the ball on the floor, taking the ball in the six-yard box to get the team going.”
STRONG PERSONALITY
Greaves captained Hull at youth level, was made vice-captain for the first team last summer and took the armband whenever Lewis Coyle was absent.
He’s not someone who lacks confidence.
After making his senior debut for Cheltenham at Bristol Rovers at the age of 18, he said: “Some younger lads might go into their shells a little bit but I had my shoulders back and, even though we got beat 3-0, it was a great learning experience for me.”
On learning from his dad, he’s said: “He was talking to me at the weekend about how he was probably too mouthy, having too much to say - and there are times when I’m like that.”
SET-PIECE THREAT
Greaves is 6ft 4in tall and likes to attack the ball in the air.
Speaking in March 2021, Hull boss McCann said: “Jacob could probably have had 10 (goals) by now with the amount of first contacts he’s had on set-pieces this season. And he’s had a couple of goals wrongly chalked off in my opinion.”
His first senior goal finally arrived in October 2022. On his bundled finish in a 4-2 win at Rotherham, he said: “I knew it would come in time. It came off my right foot, my swinging foot, which was a surprise! Hopefully I can now go on and get a few more.”
Greaves has scored five more times since then, including a brace at Huddersfield back in February when he headed in a stoppage-time winner on what was his 200th appearance for the club.
HOW HE COMPARES
The direct comparison in the Ipswich squad would be with Cameron Burgess given both are 6ft 4in tall, left-footed centre-backs.
They had very similar stats for aerial duels, interceptions, clearances and blocks last season. Where Greaves is different is that he might contribute to the build-up play more. He attempted 19 dribbles last season, compared to Burgess’ four. And he made 23 key passes compared to Burgess’ 10. Those numbers were helped by the following though.
PLAYING LEFT-BACK
There have been times, when Hull have been short of options, that Greaves has filled in at left-back.
“When I first played there (in a 2-0 home loss to Birmingham), that game was probably one of the worst I’ve had in my career,” he said.
“But I stayed positive, believed in myself and started to contribute from that role.”
Given Leif Davis is Town's only out-and-out left-back at the moment, that versatility could prove quite useful.
ROLE MODELS
Greaves is clearly someone who wants to watch and learn.
"I was a season ticket holder in the Premier League and Harry Maguire was unbelievable for Hull," he said of the Manchester United and England star.
“He played in a back three so I was watching how he played, obviously not knowing I was going to come here and play in a back three at 18 years old.
“But I had a look at how he played, a great role model."
Leicester paid £12m to sign Maguire (age 24 at the time) from Hull in 2017. They got £70m for him when he moved to Manchester United two years later. Town will be hoping history can repeat with Greaves (23).
In an another interview, Greaves referenced then Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte, saying: "Being left-footed as well, and one of the best centre-backs in the Premier League, watching players like that is how you improve. So I'll keep watching him, see what he does and try to implement that."
Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna will really try to tap into those sponge-like qualities.
PLENTY OF INTEREST
In March 2023, Aston Villa, Brentford and Nottingham Forest were all said to be monitoring Greaves’ progress. In more recent weeks/months, Tottenham, West Ham and Everton were all linked.
When discussing the likely exits of Greaves and Jaden Philogene, Hull owner Acun Ilicali said: "I'm sad. Both of them are very good boys and I like them a lot, especially Greaves. He has been here since I came, and I have a special relationship with him, but he mentioned to me that he wants to go to the Premier League.”
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