Manchester United have allegedly been told that they would still need to pay Aston Villa £80 million to sign Jack Grealish this summer, even if the club is relegated from the Premier League, which is still on the cards following their 0-0 draw with Sheffield United on Wednesday evening. United have been long-term admirers of the 24-year-old.
The Daily Mail has reported that even if relegation happens for the club this summer, the clubs valuation of the player will not be reduced, which seems a strange one considering the player would like to leave the club, seemingly having his head turned by United. Villa now have nine matches to secure their safety in the league, or face problems.
Villa still sit in 19th place in the Premier League and face Chelsea on Sunday in a must-win match, which could well see them with a tough challenge on their hands to escape the bottom three places in the league. Grealish has a contract at Villa which will expire in the summer of 2023, so Villa are in the driving seat regarding a fee.
This season, Grealish has made a total of 32 appearances for Villa this season, playing in the Premier League and the Carabao Cup, with Villa reaching the final, scoring nine goals and eight assists, which is a good rate of goals and assists from the player. United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is seeking more creativity from his squad.
Grealish has been a stand out player for Villa this season and will be a big miss for them next season, whether they are playing in the Premier League or back in the Championship. It was thought that the Birmingham club would cut their asking price for the player if the club was relegated, however, they might just do that, hoping for an early agreement.
United will probably wait until Villa have played their last game, or succumbed to their eventual fate, which could happen a lot sooner. Grealish though, would not want to spend another season in the Championship during what could be the start of the peak of his career, rather playing inn the top-flight possibly with European football.
