Exclusive Why Grealish regrets not joining Spurs
Midfielder admits regret over scuppered move Boyhood fan intent on taking Villa into top flight
Jack Grealish has insisted he is finally over his disappointment at missing out on a summer move to Tottenham Hotspur, but he believes he could have become a Premier League star under Mauricio Pochettino.
In his first interview since his proposed £25 million move fell through, Grealish opened up on his summer of uncertainty by admitting he was convinced he was leaving – even three days before the transfer window closed.
The Aston Villa midfielder was identified by Pochettino as a priority signing and it seemed inevitable that Grealish would be operating in the Champions League this season as his beloved club battled against huge financial problems in the Championship.
But Villa’s new owners, Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, completed their majority takeover in late July and were adamant he would not be sold, ending Pochettino’s hopes.
This week, Grealish signed a new five-year contract at Villa in a coup for new chief executive Christian Purslow, and he remains determined to help to drive his club back into the top flight this season.
But, inevitably, there were regrets as he spoke for the first time about the collapse of the Spurs move. “Of course, there’s going to be disappointment there. You’ve just got to look at what Spurs have done this season. They’ve beaten Manchester United 3-0 at Old Trafford, they’re playing Barcelona in the Champions League next week,” he said.
“I felt that if I’d gone there I could have maybe been in the England squad by the end of the year. I would never have gone there just to make up the numbers. I would have been a squad player, obviously, because you have to look at how good their players are. But I genuinely thought that after a month or two of
‘Villa needed the money so I kind of accepted that me going would save the club’
training, I could have really made an impact.
“At the start of the season my head was swivelled, it was all over the place. Even after the transfer window closed, until the end of August, I wasn’t right.”
Grealish’s sale was supposed to be Villa’s life-saver after they lost the Championship play-off final to Fulham, with the club thrust headfirst into a financial crisis due to former owner Tony Xia’s cash-flow issues. Manager Steve Bruce admitted selling the 23-year-old was “inevitable” and during Villa’s 3-1 win at Hull City on Aug 6, days after the majority takeover, Grealish waved to the fans in the away end as he was substituted late on.
At that time, it felt like an emotional farewell. “At Hull, I was 95 per cent sure it was going to be my last game. I waved to the fans when I got taken off as I thought I was going. Even on the Thursday morning of the transfer window, there were things being said,” he added. “Before the new owners, Villa needed the money, so I kind of accepted that me going would save the club. I think the fans would have taken that, too, because we needed the money.
“Of course it was unsettling, it was all summer. A lot of people saw the interview with the manager in Portugal when he said the club
would have to sell me. At that time it could have got done, but for whatever reason it didn’t. They [Spurs] weren’t willing to pay what Villa wanted at the time. But the new owners came in and they changed everything.
“It’s not like I was devastated it didn’t happen, though, because I’ve still got to realise how lucky I am to be playing for my boyhood club. I’ve played over 100 games for Villa and I’ve only just turned 23.”
Grealish said leaving Villa would have been a tremendous wrench. He has been with the club since the age of six, travelling up and down the country to watch games, while his family are Villa diehards. His parents, Kevin and Karen, plus brother Kevan and sisters Kiera and Holly, have been even more supportive over the past two months.
Now he is fully focused on sparking his season into life and easing the pressure on Bruce.
A first call-up to the England squad remains a huge ambition: last week he was watched by Gareth Southgate’s assistant Steve Holland
in the draw with Blackburn Rovers. “I want to start performing now because, truthfully, I haven’t been. I haven’t done as well as I should be doing and haven’t got the goals or assists,” he said, minutes before climbing aboard the team bus travelling to Bristol for the Championship game against City tonight. “I need to start doing everything right again, like I was in the last few months of last season.
“I know how good I can be. I’m not being big-headed, I think all players have to have that confidence and self-belief. When I’m at my best I know how good I can be, so hopefully in the future I’ll get that England call-up.
“Everyone knows the talent we’ve got in this squad and we’ve got to go all out again to get promoted. I think we’ve got the best squad in the league.
“I was speaking to Anwar [El Ghazi, the winger] this morning and he was asking me about Bristol City. I told him they play good football and he just puffed his cheeks out. I don’t think he can believe how hard the Championship is, coming from France. It’s relentless, but we have to be ready for it.
“Getting promotion with Villa is still the ultimate for me. It’s what I’ve always dreamed of and playing there in the Premier League is still the big aim.”