Manchester City’s summer-long quest for Jack Grealish seems to have intensified amid reports that a £ 100m bid has been made for the Aston Villa captain.
Pep Guardiola is a well-known admirer of Grealish and has pointed to the England international and Tottenham’s Harry Kane as his most important transfer goals this summer.
City’s efforts have been well documented, with 90 minutes confirmed on Thursday that talks were progressing between Villa – with confidence that an agreement would be reached. Things may now have escalated further, with the Telegraph reporting that a £ 100m bid – which would be a UK transfer record – has been submitted.
If successful, the bid would surpass Manchester United’s £ 89 million catch of Paul Pogba back in 2016.
Unsurprisingly, Villa boss Dean Smith is desperate to keep his talisman as he looks to build a side that could improve on his eleventh place last season. The club has already tried to secure Grealish’s long-term future by offering him a lucrative £ 125,000 a week.
Despite Smith’s desire to retain Grealish’s services, 90 minutes recently revealed that homeowners Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris have no qualms about forcing the 25-year-old to stay at Villa Park if his heart is elsewhere – but it is still unclear what their exact value of Grealish is.
City have become increasingly frustrated in recent weeks over Spurs’ unwillingness to negotiate an agreement on their second main goal Kane, with 90 minutes revealing Daniel Levy is not interested in entertaining offers for his valuable possessions.
Given that City’s talks with the club in north London seem to have reached a stalemate, they now seem to be focusing on releasing a contract for Grealish for the time being.
Pep Guardiola is desperate to land Grealish this summer / Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA / Getty Images
Villa’s hierarchy has already approved the signing of creative midfielder Emi Buendia this summer and the club will continue to monitor Bayer Leverkusen’s Leon Bailey – a move that could be seen as a contingency plan if Grealish’s departure is confirmed in the coming weeks.
Whether £ 100 million is enough to tempt the Villans to divorce their captain remains to be seen, but City’s bid certainly indicates that they are determined to get their man.
