Jack Grealish to Man City: What Is Being Reported?
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After a manic morning of reports and claims surrounding the future of Jack Grealish and specifically links to Manchester City, here is a complete round-up of everything in the press.
The Premier League champions have been long linked with a move for the England international midfielder, and Friday morning brought about the fastest moving developments in this particular saga.
Various claims were made in regards to fees being agreed and the timing of when a possible deal could be completed, and while this is undoubtedly a developing story, here is a complete round-up of everything that has been reported on the situation from various organisations in England.
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Mail Sport
We start with the Mail, who broke the story on Friday morning.
The newspaper reported that Manchester City are set to complete a £100 million deal for Jack Grealish after he has finished representing England at the ongoing European Championships.
It was further explained that talks between the two clubs have ‘progressed rapidly’ and that Manchester City, who still want to sign Tottenham striker Harry Kane this summer, have now agreed a deal with Aston Villa.
TalkSport
Then came Jim White and talkSport sources, who broke a story stating that Manchester City were close to signing Jack Grealish for around £100 million – aligning itself with the news from the Mail earlier in the day.
The line from their report is that a deal is ‘as good as done’, and similar to the report from the Mail, will be completed after the European Championships.
ESPN
Rob Dawson and ESPN sources then provided their take on the situation which stated that Manchester City are ‘close to reaching an agreement’ with Aston Villa for Jack Grealish, and once again, are ready to pay around £100 million.
Interestingly, despite the noise around the potential transfer, it was stated that Manchester City have so far declined to comment.
But what does this mean for Manchester City’s pursuit of Harry Kane? Well, Rob Dawson states that Etihad officials will retain their interest in the Tottenham striker, even if they get a deal for Jack Grealish over the line – further highlighting their level of intent in the summer transfer market this year.
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Manchester Evening News
Perhaps the most reliable of the three stories came later in the morning, as Simon Bajkowski of the MEN revealed that there is now ‘growing confidence’ that Jack Grealish will be a Manchester City player next season, even if we are not at the “done deal” stage yet.
It was then confirmed, that Manchester City are ready to spend £100 million on the Aston Villa man.
Guardian
To slightly calm down the noise around the reports, Ed Aarons of the Guardian then wrote on social media that although there is ‘strong interest’ in Jack Grealish from Manchester City – which has been pretty evident for some time now, a fee has yet to be agreed with Aston Villa.
The Athletic
The information from Gregg Evans and David Ornstein of the Athletic strengthened the idea of Manchester City making a bid, but distanced itself from the suggestion that a deal has been completed.
It was reported that Manchester City are preparing to bid for Jack Grealish, with a fee of around £100 million expected to be required to stand a chance of signing him.
At present, there has been no contact between the two clubs and Aston Villa are understandably determined to keep hold of their captain.
Sky Sports
An exclusive report from Sky’s Rob Dorsett highlighted the intent from the side of Aston Villa to keep hold of their club captain beyond the summer transfer window.
It was reported that Aston Villa opened talks with Jack Grealish over an improved contract at the end of last week, and that the club are adamant they want to build a team around him.
While recruitment plans at Villa Park are reportedly are based on Jack Grealish staying at the club, it was also reported that Manchester City have made it clear they will make a formal offer once the European Championships have finished.
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