Manchester City are set to make an opening bid of £75 million for Aston Villa midfielder Jack Grealish, according to reports.
The England star has long been linked with a move to the Etihad Stadium, but the Birmingham club will do everything in their power to convince him to stay.
The Mail Online reports that City will table around £75m plus add-ons for Grealish, but Villa are determined to hold out for a British record £100m fee.
Villa will offer the 25-year-old a new £150,000 per week contract to try and keep him away from the clutches of Pep Guardiola’s side.
There could be a big summer transfer window ahead for City, who also have their targets set on Tottenham skipper Harry Kane.
Both those deals are likely to require nine-figure sums, and it seems unlikely that this opening bid will be enough to convince Villa to let their skipper go.
So far this summer, City have been getting rid of players rather than bringing them in.
Sergio Aguero and Eric Garcia joined Barcelona on free transfers to significantly lighten the wage bill, while the sales of Angelino, Jack Harrison and Lukas Nmecha have bolstered the transfer budget with their moves to RB Leipzig, Leeds and Wolfsburg respectively.
But Grealish, who made five appearances for England at Euro 2020 as the Three Lions finished runners-up, will require a vast expense and other players might need to be sold – the likes of Bernardo Silva, Riyad Mahrez, Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling have been linked with exits.
Grealish signed a new deal at Villa Park last September, tying him to the club until 2025, and the Birmingham side will be sure to strike a hard bargain with their Premier League rivals.
The playmaker is coming off another impressive season in the English top flight in 2020/21, when he scored six goals and provided 12 assists in 26 appearances.
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