Aston Villa have offered Jack Grealish a 25% pay rise in the hope of keeping the England midfielder at the club amid interest from Manchester City, according to Birmingham Live.
The Villans remain hopeful their offer will be enough to thwart Pep Guardiola’s pursuit. And plan to hold further talks when the 25-year-old has returned from his post-Euro 2020 break.
Grealish’s agent, Jonathan Barnett, has been in regular contact with Aston Villa CEO Christian Purslow to discuss a new contract. Purslow, manager Dean Smith and the club’s owners are all keen to keep their captain in Birmingham, and want his future resolved soon.
Aston Villa would like to have Grealish’s future resolved ahead of him returning for pre-season training within the next fortnight. They are yet to receive any offer from Manchester City for the 12-cap international, with Guardiola’s side still weighing up a potential move.
Talks between Manchester City and Aston Villa for Grealish are so far non-existent. The Etihad Stadium natives have also not approached Barnett, despite talkSPORT claiming a £100m deal was as good as done in late June.
Aston Villa, meanwhile, have offered Grealish a new contract worth around £150,000-per-week to thwart any pursuit Manchester City may make. The terms mark a 25% increase on his current £120k-p/w deal, per Spotrac, signed last September and running to 2025.
New Aston Villa contract would end Manchester City interest in Grealish
Grealish signing a new contract with Aston Villa will likely end Guardiola’s plans to bring him to Manchester City. It would be a clear sign of the playmaker’s intent to stay, and that he is happy at Villa Park.
Guardiola would then have to look elsewhere for a dynamic player with the same level of game-changing ability. ESPN noted Manchester City were ready to pay £100m for Grealish in June after the Spaniard marked the Aston Villa product as a key target alongside Harry Kane.
There is little surprise in Guardiola wanting Manchester City to sign Grealish after his efforts for Aston Villa. He scored six times and offered 12 assists in the Premier League last season. The Birmingham-born gem has also shone for England over the past year.
Gareth Southgate hailed Grealish as an ‘absolutely outstanding’ player last November, via BBC Sport. And while he did not feature as often as he may have preferred at Euro 2020, former Three Lions manager Sven-Goran Eriksson told Sky Sports over the weekend:
“Grealish can make the difference, he is a great player, I like him very much. In one-against-one situations, he can open up the Italy defence.”
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
