Jack Grealish has been linked with leaving relegation threatened Aston Villa and making the switch to Manchester United for some time now.
According to Manchester Evening News, Grealish remains Ole Gunner Solskjaer’s midfield priority.
United are believed to see Grealish as a more realistic option to fellow Englishman and Leicester City midfielder, James Maddison who they fully expect to sign a new contract with his current club.
Grealish helped his boyhood club, Villa win promotion from the Championship at the end of 2019 during a dramatic play-off final against Derby County.
The young Villa captain has had an impressive debut season in England’s top flight, scoring seven goals and assisting another six in 26 appearances.
During a recent revealing interview with The Guardian, Grealish has given his verdict on how this season has gone so far for him.
He said: “My season has been very good, though I probably didn’t start as I wanted to.
“I got an assist in the second game but apart from that I don’t think I got a goal or an assist for six weeks and that’s what I base my game on, what I do to help the team since then I have just thrived and enjoyed every single moment.
“Without sounding arrogant or big-headed I had no doubts I would come into this league and perform the way I have done.”
Grealish went onto address his close bond with current Villa boss, Dean Smith: “The manager has been a massive influence on me,” he says. “I couldn’t give him enough credit. I see him as like a father figure to me, I can go and speak to him about anything. I feel that’s the same with him a bit; he can ask me about what I’m feeling about training, matches. For me, I could speak to him about anything, on or off the field. Since he has come in he has been brilliant. I have played the best football of my career since he got appointed.”
Grealish concluded by saying that he would welcome more attention from England manager, Gareth Southgate: “That is what I have set out to achieve since I committed to England. In March I did not know what was going to happen but the virus obviously stopped everything. Who knows if I would have been called up or not [for the last England squad]? All I can do is start the way I was playing before and hopefully next season I can start strongly and when the internationals come back around I will be back in with a shout.”
Grealish has yet to be called-up to the England squad and appears to be keen to impress the England set-up upon the resumption of the Premier League.
With Villa looking increasingly likely to finish this season in the drop, it is likely Grealish’s international ambitions will be the catalyst behind him leaving his boyhood club.
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