Watford captain Troy Deeney has jumped to the defence of Aston Villa ace Jack Grealish.

Grealish has apologised for breaking the UK's coronavirus quarantine laws, after admitting he had attended a late night party at the flat of former team-mate Ross McCormack - just 24 hours after posting a video message urging people to stay at home.

Deeney said: “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.

“It's a growth thing. I don't envy being, what is he, 24? 25? Making money, got no kids, what's he going to do? Sit in the yard on his own?"

He added, speaking to The United Stand YouTube channel: “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."