CITY CLOSING IN ON £100M DEAL FOR GREALISH DESPITE VILLA’S EFFORTS TO KEEP BOYHOOD FAN
MANCHESTER CITY are confident a British record offer of £100million will be sufficient to secure the signing of Jack Grealish despite Aston Villa’s move to offer their captain a new contract. Less than a year after Villa handed Grealish a new deal worth £125,000 per week, they are prepared to improve the England player’s terms again as they try to ward off interest from Pep Guardiola’s side. The 25-year-old is a boyhood Villa fan and has made more than 200 appearances for the club, showing outstanding form last season before a shin problem kept him out for most of the last three months of the season. But Grealish is keen to play at the highest level possible and City believe the prospect of Champions League football will be enough to tip the balance in their favour. He has spoken previously of his admiration for City’s star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne. Sportsmail revealed that City had emerged as favourites to land Grealish for £100m in March. It is understood that the past week has brought fresh encouragement to City that a transfer can be agreed after Euro 2020. There remain obstacles to overcome in the structuring of a deal that will eclipse the £89m British record Manchester United spent on signing Paul Pogba from Juventus five years ago. It is believed that City hope to include attainable future clauses based on performance, which will drive down the initial cash outlay, while also possessing the option of offering players in return. Villa remain keen for Grealish to lead the club on a return to the top echelons of English football and, backed by billionaire owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, they are conducting another ambitious transfer campaign this summer. Emiliano Buendia has arrived
from Norwich City for a fee that could rise to £40m, while Ashley Young has returned a decade after joining Manchester United. Villa have also shown strong interest in Arsenal attacker Emile Smith Rowe. City are also targeting England captain Harry Kane this summer, in a move that would eclipse Grealish’s fee, yet there are fears Tottenham will stand firm and price them out of a move despite the striker’s desire for a new challenge. City could also be offloading first-team players this summer. Bernardo Silva has attracted interest from Barcelona and Atletico Madrid. City have made it known that they are unwilling to enter negotiations surrounding Barca’s squad players heading to the Etihad Stadium as part of Silva’s potential departure. Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Riyad Mahrez all have only two years left on their current contracts and City are expected to field bids for the trio. They are also prepared to listen to offers for Spanish defender Aymeric Laporte. Meanwhile, Manchester United will finally sign Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund for a fee in the region of £77m. The clubs have been a haggling over a price for the second year in a row, but are close to reaching an agreement for the 21-year-old winger with a deal likely to be confirmed over the weekend.
After refusing to budge on their £110m valuation last year, Dortmund have dropped the asking price and are ready to accept a fee of £73m plus £4m in add-ons following several weeks of talks. Sancho is on England duty at Euro 2020 preparing for Tuesday’s last-16 clash against Germany at Wembley. It will end United’s lengthy pursuit of their No1 transfer target with the club now set to focus their efforts on signing a new centre-back and central midfielder. Goalkeeper Sergio Romero is one of several players leaving Old Trafford this summer, and the Argentine is holding talks with Everton, who expect to confirm Rafael Benitez as their new boss.