Dean Smith: Aston Villa star Jack Grealish worth more than £60m

Reports over the weekend claimed that is the figure in a release clause agreed when Grealish signed a new five-year deal at Villa Park last September.

Smith, who replaced Steve Bruce in the hotseat a month later, declined to comment when quizzed on the matter but said: “I can’t say anything on it. But if it was me, it would probably be more (than £60m)!”

Grealish, who sat out yesterday’s 2-1 home defeat to Norwich, has been in superb form since returning from injury in early March, helping to engineer Villa’s charge from mid-table into the Championship play-offs.

The 23-year-old’s future was the subject of much scrutiny last summer when he was heavily linked with a move to Tottenham.

Though he remained at Villa Park, Smith has acknowledged it would be ‘crazy’ if Villa did not receive any bids this summer.

Winning promotion to the Premier League would quell much of the speculation with Grealish determined to pursue his top-flight ambitions at his boyhood club.

But Villa know they will face a battle to maintain his services should they again fail in the play-offs.

Speaking over the weekend, Grealish said: “I’m 23 now and I’m not getting any younger.

“I want to challenge myself, I’m desperate to play in the Premier League and I want to play for England.

“So for me personally, I think this is the year we’ve got to get promoted really.”

But he added: “All I’m thinking about is getting promoted with Villa. We’ve got the perfect manager and the perfect team.

“We’ve got more of a chance than we had last year. This year, I feel something different here. Every game we go in to, I feel like we’re going to win. I feel like this is going to be our year.”