Aston Villa will offer Jack Grealish a new contract in a bid to keep him at the club beyond the summer, according to reports.
The Villa captain is enjoying a superb season with his boyhood club, having scored six goals and provided 10 assists to date.
Grealish has been linked with both Manchester United and Manchester City in recent weeks.
The Red Devils were reportedly interested in the England international last summer, but Grealish instead penned a new deal at Villa Park.
And his current employers are planning to repeat that tactic in a bid to further extend his stay in Birmingham, report 90min.
Grealish’s current deal runs until the summer of 2025 but the Villans are prepared to offer their star man another pay rise.
Should the 25-year-old sign the proposed contract, he would become one of the highest-paid English players in the Premier League.
Grealish currently earns around £120,000 per week but Villa are willing to increase his weekly earnings to more than £200,000.
Dean Smith and the club’s board recognise that Grealish is essential to their ambitions of qualifying for Europe.
Villa are also keen to complete the signing of Ross Barkley on a permanent basis.
The attacking midfielder has impressed since moving to Villa Park on loan from Chelsea last summer.
He has struck up a fine partnership with Grealish in the final third and contributed to Villa’s rise to eighth place.
Chelsea could demand £40m for Barkley, which means Villa would need to break their transfer record to sign him.
And the club believes a new deal for Grealish could help to persuade Barkley to push for a move to Villa.
Smith’s men beat Arsenal 1-0 on Saturday thanks to an early goal from Ollie Watkins.
Villa are currently five points adrift of the top four but have a game in hand on most of the teams above them in the table.
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