‘He’s a Spurs style player’: Tottenham legend laments Levy’s £6m transfer blunder in 2018

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Tottenham Hotspur legend Gary Mabbutt spoke to Football Fancast about his former side’s failed pursuit of Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish in 2018.

Mabbutt spent 16 years at Tottenham and was the captain of the club for 11 of them. He played over 450 games for Spurs and won the UEFA Cup and the FA Cup during his time in North London.

The 59-year-old has bemoaned Daniel Levy’s decision not to sign Grealish two years ago. He feels that the Villa skipper is a ‘Spurs style player’ and said he was extremely disappointed that the deal didn’t go through.

He said: “I’m a big Jack Grealish fan, I have been for a long time. When I was told a couple of years ago that we had the chance of buying him, I think I made it publicly clear that I thought he’d be a great player for Spurs.

“It was two years ago, Aston Villa were struggling financially. They needed the money to pay tax bills, etc. And it did look like Grealish was available and could come to Spurs. I think obviously, conversations took place. In the end, it didn’t happen.

“I believe that Grealish himself was, at the time, extremely disappointed that a deal was not struck. So for me, I was very disappointed to see how well he’s done. And I knew that the quality that he had, he is a Spurs style player. What I’m saying is that I’d love to have signed him two years ago.”

Spurs could have signed Grealish for just £6 million

Tottenham could have signed the Englishman for a bargain fee in 2018. The Sun revealed earlier this year that Grealish was available for as little as £6 million, but Levy tried to bring the price down to £4 million, and that broke the deal down.

New owners took over Aston Villa and they were no longer in need of money. Grealish is a completely different player now. He is one of the best in the league and is a full England international as well.

Grealish, at just £6 million, would have been one of the best bargains ever. The Daily Mail claimed in the summer that the Englishman would cost £80 million. He has since signed a new contract, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he is now valued by Villa at over £100 million.