Manchester City are closing in on their first senior men’s team signing this summer – Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish. Villa is expected to accept a record bid for their talisman despite its recent attempts to tie him down.
Sky Sports reports that Manchester City made a record bid for the England international on Friday. The bid is thought to be in the region of 100 million pounds, which eclipses the English record fee Manchester United paid for Paul Pogba in 2016 by 11 million. Should Villa accept the offer, Grealish would become the most expensive English transfer of all time and join the exclusive nine-figure club, which houses players such as Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, and Eden Hazard.
The report states that while Villa haven’t yet responded to the offer formally, they are likely to accept the record bid and allow Grealish to discuss terms wit City. The Birmingham-based club previously attempted to tie their captain down to a new deal but are now willing to step aside.
How Villa repurpose the funds generated by Grealish’s sale is yet to be made known. However, as The Athletic reported earlier, they had a 25 million pounds bid rejected for Southampton captain James Ward-Prowse. While Villa are expected to return with a second offer for the Englishman, the Saints are reluctant to part ways with their star asset.
Meanwhile, City are expected to continue their splurge in the transfer market post the Grealish deal. The Citizens are after a center-forward following the departure of Sergio Aguero and have identified Tottenham’s Harry Kane as his potential replacement.
Spurs, however, are reluctant to sell their star striker, despite the player himself hinting at a move away towards the end of the previous season. He, too, will cost City upwards of 100 million if they attempt to formalize a transfer.
