Aston Villa will not be budged from their £80 million valuation of talisman Jack Grealish ahead of the summer transfer window in which their captain is linked with a move to Manchester United, according to reports. The Birmingham club is apparently facing an uphill battle to convince the player to remain at the club after the end of the season.
United have reportedly started background checks on the 24-year-old in order to start their proposals for the player, whether Villa are relegated from the Premier League or not. Grealish is apparently at the top of Solskjaer’s wish list this summer, despite negativity from his antics at the start of the lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Vill reportedly remain committed to keeping Grealish at the club and he is contracted until the summer of 2023, so the club are in the driving seat regarding any transfer proposals this summer. However, if Villa are relegated to the Championship after one season, the player may rock the boat in order to save his career.
It is expected that the club will not let the player leave on the cheap, if in fact he does want to leave the club this summer. Villa did spend heavily when they were promoted at the end of last season, winning the play-off final at Wembley and relegation will be a massive kick in their financials, which some clubs have not been able to sustain when going down.
United will need to be ready for a long saga, as this is what this will become, if indeed they do want to sign the player. Solskjaer will know which players he wants to add to his squad and it will not be something that has been stitched together in a matter of hours, months of would would have gone into scouting and everything else involved.
The Norwegian manager has seemingly turned the tables on United’s fortunes, especially regarding transfers with the arrival of Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Daniel James, Harry Maguire and Bruno Fernandes over the past year. United are currently linked to Grealish, Jadon Sancho, Jude Bellingham, and Moussa Dembele – which would be a good summer.
United have been lacking in creativity this season, with Paul Pogba on the sidelines for much of the season with injuries to each ankle, Anthony Martial suffering from injury and poor form, Marcus Rashford out through injury and the club making a January move for Odion Ighalo, albeit on a six-month loan deal.
The tide may have turned now that Fernandes has arrived at the club, scoring three goals and four assists in nine appearances, with Ighalo scoring four goals and one assist in eight appearances. With players like Grealish in the team next season, as long as United get another striker, the club could soon reach the glory days again.
Grealish is a talented player and despite featuring 31 times for Villa this season, scoring nine goals and eight assists, some of the quality players at United could help the attacking midfielder enhance his game. The 24-year-old has represented Villa 177 times at first team level, scoring 24 goals and 31 assists in his career so far. An England cap could soon be one the table too.
