Manchester City are moving forward with their attempt to sign Jack Grealish and believe the Aston Villa captain wants to join them this summer.
City are in talks with Villa over a deal for the England international and hope to bring him to the Etihad Stadium for less than £ 100 million.
It is unclear what homeowners Wes Eden’s and Nassef Sawiri’s exact valuation of Grealish is, with both owners previously hoping the 25-year-old could be persuaded to stay at Villa Park with the lid on a bumpy new contract.
But 90 minutes have been told that Eden and Sawiris will not force Grealish to stay if he confirms his desire to leave, and it is not believed that the city would have any problems agreeing on personal terms as they are already aware of his probable cause. requirements – the conversations have already taken place.
City’s recruiting team agreed in advance this summer that Grealish and Harry Kane would be their two best transfer targets, and although an agreement on Tottenham striker Kane does not go as planned, their swoop for Grealish is progressing.
Sources with knowledge of the situation have confirmed for 90 minutes that things are moving forward and City are still convinced that a deal will be made – an attitude that has not faltered from earlier in the month.
Pep Guardiola would rather have a deal for Grealish completed before City’s inaugural game in the 2021/22 campaign – against Leicester in the Community Shield on August 7 – but it’s time for the two clubs to agree then.
Should City close a deal for Grealish, they would look at sanctioning certain exits – and one player who may be heading for the exit door is Bernardo Silva.
90min understands that the Portuguese representatives have been working behind the scenes in recent weeks to increase interest in the former Monaco playmaker, who arrived in England four years ago for an initial fee of 50 million euros.
