Manchester United are keeping tabs on Aston Villa midfielder Jack Grealish as they hunt for improvements for the future, according to The Sun.
The report states that the Red Devils are closing in on a deal for Fred from Shakhtar Donetsk but the Villa starlet, who according to the Mirror earns a weekly wage of £20,000-a-week, has attracted the interest of the Premier League giants for his forays forward from the centre of the park.
Grealish, 22, is under contract at Villa Park until 2020 but with United looking to finalise their business early on, Villa may have to brace themselves.
OPINION
If Villa allow Grealish to leave the Villains this summer, they can forget any hopes they have of making it back into the Premier League next season as well. Without the 22-year-old in the midfield zone, the Birmingham club are a different animal altogether – they lack bite, a creative spark, and a cutting edge which was brutally exposed at times in the previous campaign without their talisman. Worryingly, it does not look as if there is anyone within the ranks who can come into the side and take his place. There had been speculation in The Mirror that Leicester City were readying a pursuit of the ace, but with Manchester United’s name also being thrown into the ring, Villa boss Steve Bruce is going to have his work cut out to convince the youngster that his future lies in the Championship and not the Premier League. There can be no doubting the fact that Grealish is top-flight material, and with financial constraints likely to affect the club in light of their failure to make it into the Premier League, they may be pushed into selling their star player.