It’s been a long time coming
Tottenham, after months of speculation, have finally tabled a bid for Jack Grealish.
The midfielder has been repeatedly linked with a move to Spurs (and other clubs) since Aston Villa missed out on promotion back to the Premier League at the end of last season.
Now, with under 48 hours of the transfer window remaining, the London club have opened the bidding. According to the Telegraph, Spurs have offered £25m for the 22-year-old who is said to be keen to make the move in order to play Champions League football.
https://twitter.com/kylepicknell/status/1026811426411868160
Although Villa have been in the second tier of English football for a couple of seasons now, it’s unlikely their new billionaire owners will find a bid of just £25m impossible to turn down. With attacking midfielders going for near double that amount in the current market, it seems almost inevitable that the bid will be rejected.
As word of the bid did the rounds, it’s clear plenty of football fans – many of them Villa supporters – felt it was way below Grealish’s true value:
https://twitter.com/SportsSayain/status/1027094620235284480
25 million for Grealish!! Is that all you’ve been stalling on. Pay them 30 and move on the next player. #THFC
— James Hodges (@jhodges10) August 8, 2018
Sorry but £25m is still a long way off the real valuation for Grealish. Surely he cant go for anything less than £30m. #avfc with no pressure to sell and if he does go then its key we get good money for him
— Bhavik Patel (@BazlaP) August 8, 2018
Cheeky. Hes worth a lot more than that. Massive future ahead of him! #SkySports
'Spurs bid £25m for Grealish'https://t.co/d7LyZnZ9uD
— Dave #AVGEEK 🏴✈☉🍺🍸 (@dave_suspect) August 8, 2018
When Daniel Levy bids £25 million for Jack Grealish. pic.twitter.com/hxIU1zBoDO
— Morley Sid Witheshaw (@Arfa1969) August 8, 2018
Grealish is the best young player I've ever seen come through our academy. He's so different from the 'norm' and would be a great signing for any side; 25 mill is way below his true valuation. Let's hope we stay strong and keep him 🙏
— Richard Dalton (@ContactCounts) August 8, 2018
Prior to their opening Grealish bid, Villa boss Steve Bruce revealed Spurs were “nowehere near” meeting their expected value for the player.
“There’s been discussions and that’s been going on all summer,” Bruce had said. “The one thing the owners have made pretty clear is that no-one is for sale.
“We don’t want to lose our best players, but they’re aware of course that everyone has their price. The best thing the owners have been able to do is not let anybody go on the cheap.
“So if someone wants to buy our players, they’re going to have to find a premium and make sure the owners are comfortable with it.
“We all know what football is, but at the moment Spurs haven’t got anywhere near what the owners want to consider – so there’s not a discussion to be had at the moment, because they’ve not got anywhere near the figure they demand.”