Dean Smith says that Aston Villa want to sign a striker, and adds that Jack Grealish will not join Manchester United.
Premier League giants United are interested in signing Grealish from Villa this month, according to The Sun.
Villa’s first-choice striker Wesley is a long-term injury concern, with Chelsea strikers Olivier Giroud and Michy Batshuayi on the Villans’ radar, according to The Sun.
Smith told The Sun: “I’m sure Jack is a big target for many teams and you can see why. He’s having his record goalscoring season and is a top player.
“But our owners are very ambitious in establishing us as a top Premier League football club and to do that you have to keep your best players. So we’ll be keeping hold of Jack Grealish. People can keep looking but they can’t touch.”
Smith added: “We’ve got business planned, that’ll continue. We are certainly looking at centre forwards, whether or not it’s one or two I’m not sure as yet.
“However we have not got much time for adaptation. We need pretty much plug-and-play players who can come and play in the Premier League straight away, which narrows down the search.”
Sensible plan
Grealish is a key figure in the current Villa team and is playing well for the Villans at the moment.
According to WhoScored, the 24-year-old has scored six goals and provided five assists in 19 Premier League appearances for the Villans so far this season.
As for signing a striker, the Villans simply have to land one before the end of the January transfer window.
Without a proven striker, Villa could end up back in the Championship at the end of the season.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
