A remarkable report has claimed Man City have succeeded in their pursuit of Aston Villa talisman Jack Grealish, with a pair of attackers now up for sale as a result.
It has been well documented that Man City are seeking to buy one or both of Grealish or Harry Kane this summer. The England pair are in the prime of their careers and are already two of the Premier League’s top talents. The thought of them linking up with an already stacked City squad under the elite coaching of Pep Guardiola is not one fans of rival clubs wish to consider.
Nevertheless, per online outlet CaughtOffside, that is exactly what will soon happen.
They report that Man City have ‘completed’ the £88m acquisition of Grealish. The 25-year-old is stated to be joining on a five-year deal which will be officially announced once Euro 2020 concludes.
Whether the report is totally accurate is open to debate. The most trusted journalist in football – Fabrizio Romano – stated on June 26 that there is still “nothing advanced” between City and Villa regarding Grealish.
The Italian did confirm that both Grealish and Kane are “top targets”. However, he added that a final decision would not be made until after the Euros.
The CaughtOffside article claims an agreement has been in place since ‘the end of last season’.
If that were the case, it could go some way to explaining why Villa acted quickly to sign a seemingly readymade replacement in Emiliano Buendia for £33m earlier this month.
Should Grealish arrive, the article claims that the futures of one or both of Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez could lay away from the Etihad.
Whether the report has jumped the gun or broken the blockbuster news early cannot yet be decisively determined. However, a recent report indicated Villa were eyeing breaking their transfer record for the second time this summer for Southampton midfielder, James Ward-Prowse.
In any case, it’s appearing increasingly likely that Grealish may have played his last game for Villa.
Man City facing Sterling backlash?
Meanwhile, Manchester City could have put their plan for Raheem Sterling to sign a new contract in peril by offering him in a deal for Harry Kane, a report claims.
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy values the striker at over £100million. As such, City are reportedly considering including Sterling as a makeweight in the deal.
According to the Sunday Mirror, though, Sterling has become ‘angry’ after learning of the development.
Indeed, both the winger and his club were hoping to open talks over a new deal; Sterling had hoped to follow Kevin de Bruyne in increasing his salary.
However, the club’s willingness to sell him for a suitable fee has led the winger to ‘reassess his options’.
Sterling ‘now knows’ that City are not truly in contract talks for the right reasons; rather than tying him down as a key player in Pep Guardiola’s team, he is aware that they are instead trying to protect his value.
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