OPINION
With Aston Villa reportedly receive fresh investment, Jack Grealish’s value is set to shoots back up, so have Tottenham Hotspur left it too late in their pursuit of the English maestro?
As reported by the Birmingham Mail, Aston Villa boss Steve Bruce has confirmed that after the club received a cash boost from investors, they can now sell Grealish on their terms.
“If we have to sell them then at least we get the right price for them and can move forward,” Bruce told the Birmingham Mail.
“When you’re up against it and hanging your dirty washing out in public then the vultures are circling and ready to nick your assets.
“At least that’s not going to be the case – well I know that’s not going to be the case – because I’ve had that conversation already.
“So if anybody is going to buy one of our players now they are going to have to pay a premium.”
As reported by The Sun, Villa’s valuation on the young midfielder stands at a whopping £40million, with Spurs chief Daniel Levy refusing to meet their asking price, having been reportedly hunting his capture all summer.
Now it appears all of Levy’s haggling has backfired massively.
The 22-year-old could have been available for a bargain fee earlier this summer when the Midlands club were in major financial hardship, but instead of paying a decent fee to secure the player, the Tottenham chairman wasted time trying to drive the price down.
With fresh investment at Villa Park, Spurs will have to pay the club’s reported £40million asking price to secure the Englishman’s signing and Levy will never stump up that amount of cash for a Championship player, no matter how good manager Mauricio Pochettino thinks he is.
The Spurs chairman has risked the success of the club’s season on a negotiation tactic, which has now backfired, leaving the club scrambling to secure transfers.
The North London club have yet to complete a single transfer this summer, with Grealish now looking more and more unlikely to become a Tottenham Hotspur player by the end of the transfer window.