Express & Star

Matt Maher: Aston Villa have never been in a better position over Jack Grealish future

It isn’t only for his England exploits Jack Grealish has been in the headlines this past week.

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Some reports last Friday claimed the Villa captain was on the brink of moving to Manchester City for a British record £100million transfer fee.

Though they proved, for now, to be wrong, they did set the tone for what promises to be an interesting few weeks once Grealish’s participation in Euro 2020 is complete.

So accustomed in recent years have Villa supporters become to being told their skipper is destined for pastures new, their chief reaction is less fear and more amusement.

Back in 2018, Grealish was on the brink of joining Tottenham while only 12 months ago there was a conviction he would depart for Manchester United. In both cases, he stayed.

What will happen this summer, no-one can know for sure at this point. Not City, not Villa and not even Grealish himself.

City’s interest is genuine, with Pep Guardiola a huge Grealish fan. There is an expectation the Premier League champions will make Villa a formal offer once the Euros are finished.

But talking about a bid and actually making it are two different things. Submitting an offer which would convince Villa to sell their most prized asset, meanwhile, is quite another.

Where Grealish is concerned, Villa are probably in the strongest position they have ever been.

In previous years, there was a genuine risk of losing him for well below his market value had they gone into administration (2018), failed to win promotion (2019) or been relegated (2020). Instead, Villa are now considered among the Premier League’s most upwardly-mobile clubs, while Grealish is contracted for the next four years.

Whatever the next few weeks might bring, there is a sense Villa really cannot lose. Either Grealish stays, or he departs for a colossal fee which would then be reinvested in the playing squad to mitigate his departure.

Of course, the former option is very much the preference for Villa’s billionaire owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, which is why they are ready to offer their captain another significant pay rise less than a year after the last one. It is their wealth which puts Villa in the enviable position to reject, should they wish, any offers which come their way, no matter how high the figures might climb.

Keeping Grealish, in the face of serious interest from the champions, would represent a statement from ambitious Villa. An interesting few weeks lie ahead.