Tottenham have ramped up their interest in signing playmaker Jack Grealish after Aston Villa chief Tony Xia admitted the club have to sell players in order to meet financial fair play restrictions this summer, according to the Evening Standard.
The regional newspaper claim the Midlands giants have slapped a £30million asking price on the 22-year-old and hope his sale could fund most of the £40million they need to comply with regulations.
The Standard report Spurs chairman Daniel Levy wants a cut-price deal for Grealish, who is on a pre-season training camp in Portugal and is ready to jet to seal a move to north London.
Good move for Tottenham?
Yes, especially if a deal can be done for less than £30million. Grealish divides opinion, as many believe his performances have not matched the hype since he first emerged as a possible star under ex-Villa boss Tim Sherwood (another who divides opinion among the Spurs fan base). But Grealish was outstanding for the final few months of last season as he put his injury and illness issues behind him and delivered a series of performances that nearly took Villa back to the Premier League. The failure to do so has less to seismic events behind the scenes at Villa as they desperately look to cut costs following their play-off final defeat. This has put Spurs in a great position to land a home-grown gem with the talent to be a jewel in north London.
This Is Futbol rating 7/10
Likely to happen?
This deal is edging closer all the time. With the two clubs in negotiations and Villa now making it clear they have to “player trade” to avoid going into administration, it is only a matter of time before prize asset Grealish leaves. Assuming Spurs are willing and able to go above £20million, expect the player to be wearing a Tottenham training top within a few weeks.
This Is Futbol rating 8/10