Country: England
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Mancheater City: 115
- Thread starter redwhiteAustrian
- Start date
- Replies 3,991
- Views 407,767
Country: England
Riou
In The Winchester, Waiting For This To Blow Over
Country: Northern Ireland
Player:Gabriel
BobP
Memri Fan
Riou
In The Winchester, Waiting For This To Blow Over
Country: Northern Ireland
Player:Gabriel
Poor Sergio getting battered today...
kash2
More Consistent Than Arteta
should have picked him to start. At least he fights.Poor Sergio getting battered today...
Country: England
Psycho Mic & Peps boys out today 
Ash10
Chairman of the Bum Brigade
People forget that City started the season terribly. Then covid struck & basically forced him to pick his best eleven as his favorites were out at that time. Also the players had a players only meeting to sort themselves out. Their best form came when his favorite discount brock lesnar got injured.
The man is so lucky yet media does everything in their power to make him seem like the greatest manager of all time
The man is so lucky yet media does everything in their power to make him seem like the greatest manager of all time
nice to see Agueros dad & brother calling out Pep for being a fake ass ****
Country: Nigeria
Player:Saliba
Rosso
AM's Resident United Fan
I will never respect this version of Manchester City. Everything they have done and will do is hollow.
They'll still go away with it. Like ffp
Country: Scotland
The world's best open secret.
Country: England
Their pre-season kinda puts ours in perspective lol
Country: England
Gregg Evans, David Ornstein, and Sam Lee
It was Monday and Jack Grealish laced up his boots, put on Aston Villa’s new training kit and headed out onto the grass at their pre-season camp in west London.
It wasn’t what he had expected to be doing four days on from Manchester City making a Premier League record £100 million bid for him but things were dragging on and he was determined to act professionally for the sake of his reputation, the club he loves, the fans he adored and his family, who live in Birmingham and support Aston Villa.
However, he had gone out to that session on an agreement from Villa chief executive Christian Purslow — an agreement that his boyhood team would finally accept the bid that day and allow him to go to play for Pep Guardiola’s champions. It had been a tense few days.
And then the end of Monday came and the bid was still not accepted.
Tensions rose as Villa had conversations about whether it was possible to do a deal with Manchester United or Real Madrid instead but then Grealish’s camp made something very clear: he was only interested in playing for Manchester City and Villa had to accept the bid because there was a release clause in his contract saying so.
Pressure was applied. Nobody wanted this to end with lawyers. And so finally, on Tuesday evening, after delaying as much as he could, Purslow accepted the bid. Grealish finally was allowed to say goodbye to his team-mates and leave the London camp on Wednesday afternoon. The paperwork was completed in the early hours of Thursday.
The deal was intense and complicated from start to finish and The Athletic can now explain that:
That release clause, inserted into Grealish’s contract when he signed a new five-year deal last September, lies at the heart of much of the tension and delaying over the past few days.
Grealish’s agents Stellar had previous in getting a big client out of a club when Gareth Bale joined Real Madrid from Tottenham Hotspur in 2013 and knew the clause would be key to any deal, whether that be abroad, to Manchester United (who had been interested previously) or City, the clear front-runners.
It is in many ways the opposite of what is going on currently with Harry Kane and his own attempts to leave Sp**s this summer. It is a battle their England colleague Declan Rice might face if he wants to leave West Ham United.
That clause, however, was confidential — a legal issue that isn’t the case in mainland Europe but is in the UK — meaning City didn’t know about it and Villa could stall in the hope of getting more money from them or just to gain time to sign some players themselves. The rushed announcement of Danny Ings’ move from Southampton on Wednesday night, unusually without a picture of the player or quotes from him, is a case in point. Bayer Leverkusen’s Leon Bailey had also joined earlier the same day.
Conversations had been taking place between Al Mubarak and Sawiris owing to the good relationship the pair have. When the City bid did arrive on Thursday of last week, it was for £100 million — a British record transfer fee and enough to trigger the clause at Villa’s end. Crucially the bid also came before Saturday August 7, the date on which the clause was to expire.
Manchester City completed the £100 million signing of Jack Grealish on Thursday (Photo: Matt McNulty – Manchester City/Manchester City FC via Getty Images)
Purslow became a key figure in what followed and the tensions that arose. He, of course, had to put his club first and wanted to see if more money could be extracted from City if negotiations dragged on. Although he acknowledged the bid on the Friday, there was nothing more formal, which did not please the player or City.
Finally, despite indicating Villa would accept the bid, nothing more came again on the Saturday, a move which perplexed Grealish and his camp as they knew it matched his release clause.
City were determined to hold firm and discussions between the player’s side and with Purslow continued, with repeated reassurances that the deal would be ratified. At one point there were tentative conversations about whether Real Madrid, who are in no position financially to do the deal, could offer some sort of player swap instead. Manchester United were called too and swap deals were also mentioned.
United admired Grealish and would have considered a move next year but the player only wanted to go to City and Old Trafford was never going to be a realistic resolution. Why the desperation to not sell to City? Many Premier League clubs are concerned their success and financial clout are damaging the competition. Villa are not alone in this.
It was after Grealish trained on Monday following the agreement that the bid would be accepted that frictions emerged and Purslow was reminded by the player’s camp about the clause. The last thing they wanted was legal action — Grealish genuinely loves Villa and wanted to leave as much as possible on good terms with the fans, especially as his family live in the Birmingham area. A version of the Kane stand-off situation at Tottenham did not appeal. There was certainly no talk of refusing to train and Villa insiders told The Athletic that Grealish’s behaviour was impeccable all week.
Finally, with Bailey signed, Ings on the way and the inevitability of having to let Grealish go, Villa signed the agreement on Tuesday evening. Grealish was eventually released to head for Manchester on Wednesday but two things happened before that. Firstly, he was asked to go out and watch an 11 v 11 training game while Villa finalised the Ings deal. He became increasingly frustrated.
Secondly, he decided to make a speech to the squad in the changing room after that match. Nobody was allowed to film it or tell anyone it had happened. The players applauded him at the end and he became emotional.
The medical had been planned for 8am Thursday for a while, with the announcement due later that day. Finally, the saga came to an end. Villa had their money (which will be paid in installments over three years, which suits City in terms of spreading their spend) and had delayed enough to sign some players. City had their target.
When he arrived in Manchester, there was a genuine surprise: City were giving him the No 10 shirt.
Grealish had expected to take the No 19, in tribute to Paul Gascoigne, who famously wore 19 for England, but City had other ideas and didn’t reveal the news until he walked into the dressing room.
Now he can bask in it, with an unveiling in front of City’s fans scheduled for Monday outside the Etihad Stadium.
Guardiola made it clear that Grealish was the attacking midfield option he wants to alternate with Ilkay Gundogan, who has become a key part of the City team, particularly since David Silva left the club last summer.
Grealish is sure to spend some time on the left-hand side, although with Phil Foden and Raheem Sterling for competition it is far from assured. One thing that is for sure is that City have put a considerable amount of thought into their summer signings, to the extent that the club’s analysts had been instructed to hypothesise how Grealish and Sp**s’ Kane could work together.
As part of that, they paid particular attention to the best and worst areas in which to win free kicks, based on the distance and angles from the goal.
Grealish has won more free kicks than any other player in the Premier League over the last two seasons and, while City are not particularly potent from dead ball situations, they will do what they can to optimise the threat — especially if they are able to add Kane to their ranks. Sources at the Tottenham end insist the England captain will not be sold.
Contacts around the Grealish deal, in contrast, had been sure it was heading in only one direction as early as the beginning of July. By the end of last month it had become an open secret, and a late delay could not change things. While rumours of a Grealish U-turn circulated, sources close to the player stressed he was determined to make the move.
At City, the communications department remained tight-lipped but the content team had long drawn up announcement articles, security staff had been primed for an impending arrival and efforts were made to make his family feel at home two weeks prior.
The two clubs had long been on the same page regarding what kind of fee would be enough to close the deal, hence the certainty within footballing circles that an agreement would be reached, and City officials pushed hard to get things over the line as last week drew to a close. Representatives involved in City’s other dealings this summer had noted a concerted effort to get Grealish done.
Despite all the talk of City’s interest, the actual discussions only started at the end of July. Sawiris, the Egyptian co-owner at Villa who knows members of the City hierarchy well, became heavily involved last week and although the Midlands club delayed their response to the £100 million offer, an agreement was struck.
Guardiola plans to use Grealish in one of the No 8 positions (Photo: Rob Newell – CameraSport via Getty Images)
Grealish was aware of City’s interest as far back as 18 months ago.
When Villa played Guardiola’s side in the Carabao Cup final in March of last year, he knew exactly what the opposition manager thought of him. Not only because Guardiola had praised his performances in previous games between the two sides and also answered questions in detail in public, but also because those in his inner circle had heard about how City would consider firming up their interest if Villa were relegated from the Premier League at the end of that season.
Manchester United had a similar plan but were still considering Grealish in the period after Villa had secured survival. Eventually, United decided Ajax midfielder Donny van de Beek, with his experience of playing Champions League football, represented better value-for-money at just £35 million — a fraction of what Grealish would have cost.
City, meanwhile, shifted their focus onto the defence and spent almost £100 million on centre-backs Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake. This summer, though, Grealish shot up to the top of the wishlist alongside Kane. They knew that if they were to hit the £100 million figure, Villa would consider selling their captain.
Grealish was genuinely excited at the start of last season following a lengthy chat with Sawiris which convinced him to sign a five-year deal. Had either City or United come in with a formal bid, he would have been keen on discussing a move but there was no bid. Committing to leaving Villa was always incredibly difficult, though, and it weighed heavily on his mind.
Last summer was different to 2018 when Tottenham were on the verge of signing him. Grealish thought the play-off final defeat by Fulham that May was going to be his last Villa game and he lay on his bed at their London hotel after the match feeling lost and deflated at the prospect of another season in the Championship. He was gutted by Villa’s failure to win promotion — which they would achieve in the same fixture a year later —but in time felt excited about what the future looked like for him at Sp**s.
When Sawiris and co-owner Wes Edens took over at Villa and immediately blocked the move, he was disappointed at missing out on the opportunity of Champions League football with Tottenham and had to regain his focus.
Leaving Villa back then was considerably easier than with the club in the Premier League, but now feels very much like the right time for him. Last season he watched the Champions League in envy, with some of his younger England team-mates shining in a competition in which he’s yet to feature. As he turns 26 next month, Grealish decided he couldn’t wait any longer for such an opportunity.
One of his favourite players, Kevin De Bruyne, also pulled him to one side after England played Belgium in the Nations League last year to tell him that he was a brilliant performer in his own right, and would fit in well at City.
During the European Championship this summer, Grealish was able to find out everything he wanted to know about City from the relevant representatives in the squad. Sterling and Foden are going to be two of his direct rivals for game-time this season, but he gets on well with both and was able to learn more about his new club while he was away on England duty.
The families of England’s players all mingled too and discussed possible summer transfers. Grealish and Kane’s names were always the most popular.
Grealish will be playing alongside Raheem Sterling for City too this season (Photo: Eddie Keogh – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
But while there were suggestions among England team-mates that Kane may not return to Tottenham training on time after the Euros, there were no such doubts around Grealish. It was hoped a deal could be agreed in advance of him reporting back to Villa on August 1, but it quickly became apparent that wouldn’t be possible.
Grealish, it has been said, cut a frustrated figure at Villa’s training camp in west London. He insisted on remaining respectful to the club, but as the days dragged on and the complexities around the deal could not be ironed out quickly, his mood deteriorated. A member of Villa’s security team followed his moves around the facility as spectators asked for pictures and updates on his situation.
Villa again made their intentions for the future clear. They signed winger Bailey from German club Leverkusen for £30 million as further evidence of their ambition, but it wasn’t enough. Grealish had already made up his mind and was simply waiting for his big move to go through.
Villa wanted three new attackers to help fill the void. Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse remains on the radar after a £25 million bid was rejected, while Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham and Manchester United defender Axel Tuanzebe, who spent 18 months on loan to Villa from January 2018, still appeal.
The early-summer signings — Norwich City playmaker Emiliano Buendia and Villa old boy Ashley Young — were told clearly that they were coming in to play with Grealish rather than to be used as part of replacing him. Convincing new recruits about the club’s ambitions going forward will certainly take a hit as Grealish was so much more than just Villa’s star performer out on the pitch.
In the past, he helped convince Abraham and Ross Barkley to join them on loan from Chelsea, and was even used to help the academy and the women’s team sign players with his encouraging and friendly face-to-face conversations around the training ground.
Grealish’s face is often the first one supporters see when they visit Villa Park. His picture alongside boss Dean Smith is positioned at the top of the North Stand exterior and overlooks the car park. Villa have recovered from high-profile departures in the past, but this is going to take some time to get over. Supporters are numb and already feeling his absence.
City, meanwhile, are flexing their muscles further by making a huge push to strengthen.
Spending this amount of money on one player is a major departure from City’s usual, self-imposed spending limits on individuals.
In recent years they have broken their club record fee several times, but it has gone up only incrementally from around £50 million for the likes of Kyle Walker and Benjamin Mendy, to around £60 million for Riyad Mahrez and Aymeric Laporte, and finally to £63 million last summer for Dias.
The club are incredibly wary of how their spending is perceived and are quick to give their versions of transfer fees, in a world where add-ons can be used by the selling and buying club to make a deal look bigger or smaller. Guardiola had said earlier this year that City could not pay the kind of figures being touted around for a striker, and yet they would be prepared to pay around £130 million for Kane and have now agreed a £100 million deal for Grealish.
Grealish is now the most expensive signing in Premier League history (Photo: Marc Atkins/Getty Images )
In a COVID-19 affected market and on the back of record club losses, these are big moves, but it must be said that City have been sitting on a sizable transfer kitty since last summer, and they have raised plenty of cash through the sales of young players and those brought into the City Football Group. City old boy Jadon Sancho’s move to Manchester United from Borussia Dortmund has earned them £11.3 million, too.
Bernardo Silva is expecting to move on soon and has made arrangements to leave his city-centre apartment with Juventus and Atletico Madrid interested. Gabriel Jesus could also go, to facilitate a deal for Kane if Tottenham change their stance.
City have pulled out all the stops this summer in a bid to freshen things up. The Athletic revealed at the end of last season that several players had become unhappy with their share of game-time, but in a difficult market for most clubs it was always unlikely that a raft of sales would be possible. It is something Guardiola confirmed at his press conference on Friday.
Instead of aiming for four or five new players to rejuvenate the squad, City set their sights on two major arrivals — designed to add energy, impetus and a real cutting edge. And the fact that Grealish and Kane, who is unlikely to arrive in this window, are both top England internationals is no coincidence.
There is a suspicion among Premier League clubs that Brexit will dictate that stricter homegrown quotas could be imposed on English football in the next year or so, and if that were to be the case then players such as Grealish and Kane would cost even more.
For now, though, it’s time for City to enjoy Grealish. The most expensive Premier League signing in history. The player who gripped the nation all summer despite only playing a bit-part role in England’s run to the European Championship final, and a player tasked with finally helping the club land that coveted Champions League title.
It was Monday and Jack Grealish laced up his boots, put on Aston Villa’s new training kit and headed out onto the grass at their pre-season camp in west London.
It wasn’t what he had expected to be doing four days on from Manchester City making a Premier League record £100 million bid for him but things were dragging on and he was determined to act professionally for the sake of his reputation, the club he loves, the fans he adored and his family, who live in Birmingham and support Aston Villa.
However, he had gone out to that session on an agreement from Villa chief executive Christian Purslow — an agreement that his boyhood team would finally accept the bid that day and allow him to go to play for Pep Guardiola’s champions. It had been a tense few days.
And then the end of Monday came and the bid was still not accepted.
Tensions rose as Villa had conversations about whether it was possible to do a deal with Manchester United or Real Madrid instead but then Grealish’s camp made something very clear: he was only interested in playing for Manchester City and Villa had to accept the bid because there was a release clause in his contract saying so.
Pressure was applied. Nobody wanted this to end with lawyers. And so finally, on Tuesday evening, after delaying as much as he could, Purslow accepted the bid. Grealish finally was allowed to say goodbye to his team-mates and leave the London camp on Wednesday afternoon. The paperwork was completed in the early hours of Thursday.
The deal was intense and complicated from start to finish and The Athletic can now explain that:
- Grealish’s release clause of £100 million was added last summer and was set to expire today, August 7
- City did not know about the clause, which allowed Villa to stall
- The negotiations were led by City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak and Villa co-owner Nassef Sawiris
- Villa delayed as long as possible so they could sign players
- There was dialogue with Real Madrid and Manchester United as Villa preferred not to do business with City
- Grealish is signing a six-year deal worth £300,000 per week plus bonuses and has the opportunity to earn significantly more
- The goodbye speech in the Villa dressing room on Wednesday
- How City kept the fact he’ll wear their No 10 shirt a secret from him.
That release clause, inserted into Grealish’s contract when he signed a new five-year deal last September, lies at the heart of much of the tension and delaying over the past few days.
Grealish’s agents Stellar had previous in getting a big client out of a club when Gareth Bale joined Real Madrid from Tottenham Hotspur in 2013 and knew the clause would be key to any deal, whether that be abroad, to Manchester United (who had been interested previously) or City, the clear front-runners.
It is in many ways the opposite of what is going on currently with Harry Kane and his own attempts to leave Sp**s this summer. It is a battle their England colleague Declan Rice might face if he wants to leave West Ham United.
That clause, however, was confidential — a legal issue that isn’t the case in mainland Europe but is in the UK — meaning City didn’t know about it and Villa could stall in the hope of getting more money from them or just to gain time to sign some players themselves. The rushed announcement of Danny Ings’ move from Southampton on Wednesday night, unusually without a picture of the player or quotes from him, is a case in point. Bayer Leverkusen’s Leon Bailey had also joined earlier the same day.
Conversations had been taking place between Al Mubarak and Sawiris owing to the good relationship the pair have. When the City bid did arrive on Thursday of last week, it was for £100 million — a British record transfer fee and enough to trigger the clause at Villa’s end. Crucially the bid also came before Saturday August 7, the date on which the clause was to expire.
Manchester City completed the £100 million signing of Jack Grealish on Thursday (Photo: Matt McNulty – Manchester City/Manchester City FC via Getty Images)
Purslow became a key figure in what followed and the tensions that arose. He, of course, had to put his club first and wanted to see if more money could be extracted from City if negotiations dragged on. Although he acknowledged the bid on the Friday, there was nothing more formal, which did not please the player or City.
Finally, despite indicating Villa would accept the bid, nothing more came again on the Saturday, a move which perplexed Grealish and his camp as they knew it matched his release clause.
City were determined to hold firm and discussions between the player’s side and with Purslow continued, with repeated reassurances that the deal would be ratified. At one point there were tentative conversations about whether Real Madrid, who are in no position financially to do the deal, could offer some sort of player swap instead. Manchester United were called too and swap deals were also mentioned.
United admired Grealish and would have considered a move next year but the player only wanted to go to City and Old Trafford was never going to be a realistic resolution. Why the desperation to not sell to City? Many Premier League clubs are concerned their success and financial clout are damaging the competition. Villa are not alone in this.
It was after Grealish trained on Monday following the agreement that the bid would be accepted that frictions emerged and Purslow was reminded by the player’s camp about the clause. The last thing they wanted was legal action — Grealish genuinely loves Villa and wanted to leave as much as possible on good terms with the fans, especially as his family live in the Birmingham area. A version of the Kane stand-off situation at Tottenham did not appeal. There was certainly no talk of refusing to train and Villa insiders told The Athletic that Grealish’s behaviour was impeccable all week.
Finally, with Bailey signed, Ings on the way and the inevitability of having to let Grealish go, Villa signed the agreement on Tuesday evening. Grealish was eventually released to head for Manchester on Wednesday but two things happened before that. Firstly, he was asked to go out and watch an 11 v 11 training game while Villa finalised the Ings deal. He became increasingly frustrated.
Secondly, he decided to make a speech to the squad in the changing room after that match. Nobody was allowed to film it or tell anyone it had happened. The players applauded him at the end and he became emotional.
The medical had been planned for 8am Thursday for a while, with the announcement due later that day. Finally, the saga came to an end. Villa had their money (which will be paid in installments over three years, which suits City in terms of spreading their spend) and had delayed enough to sign some players. City had their target.
When he arrived in Manchester, there was a genuine surprise: City were giving him the No 10 shirt.
Grealish had expected to take the No 19, in tribute to Paul Gascoigne, who famously wore 19 for England, but City had other ideas and didn’t reveal the news until he walked into the dressing room.
Now he can bask in it, with an unveiling in front of City’s fans scheduled for Monday outside the Etihad Stadium.
Guardiola made it clear that Grealish was the attacking midfield option he wants to alternate with Ilkay Gundogan, who has become a key part of the City team, particularly since David Silva left the club last summer.
Grealish is sure to spend some time on the left-hand side, although with Phil Foden and Raheem Sterling for competition it is far from assured. One thing that is for sure is that City have put a considerable amount of thought into their summer signings, to the extent that the club’s analysts had been instructed to hypothesise how Grealish and Sp**s’ Kane could work together.
As part of that, they paid particular attention to the best and worst areas in which to win free kicks, based on the distance and angles from the goal.
Grealish has won more free kicks than any other player in the Premier League over the last two seasons and, while City are not particularly potent from dead ball situations, they will do what they can to optimise the threat — especially if they are able to add Kane to their ranks. Sources at the Tottenham end insist the England captain will not be sold.
Contacts around the Grealish deal, in contrast, had been sure it was heading in only one direction as early as the beginning of July. By the end of last month it had become an open secret, and a late delay could not change things. While rumours of a Grealish U-turn circulated, sources close to the player stressed he was determined to make the move.
At City, the communications department remained tight-lipped but the content team had long drawn up announcement articles, security staff had been primed for an impending arrival and efforts were made to make his family feel at home two weeks prior.
The two clubs had long been on the same page regarding what kind of fee would be enough to close the deal, hence the certainty within footballing circles that an agreement would be reached, and City officials pushed hard to get things over the line as last week drew to a close. Representatives involved in City’s other dealings this summer had noted a concerted effort to get Grealish done.
Despite all the talk of City’s interest, the actual discussions only started at the end of July. Sawiris, the Egyptian co-owner at Villa who knows members of the City hierarchy well, became heavily involved last week and although the Midlands club delayed their response to the £100 million offer, an agreement was struck.
Guardiola plans to use Grealish in one of the No 8 positions (Photo: Rob Newell – CameraSport via Getty Images)
Grealish was aware of City’s interest as far back as 18 months ago.
When Villa played Guardiola’s side in the Carabao Cup final in March of last year, he knew exactly what the opposition manager thought of him. Not only because Guardiola had praised his performances in previous games between the two sides and also answered questions in detail in public, but also because those in his inner circle had heard about how City would consider firming up their interest if Villa were relegated from the Premier League at the end of that season.
Manchester United had a similar plan but were still considering Grealish in the period after Villa had secured survival. Eventually, United decided Ajax midfielder Donny van de Beek, with his experience of playing Champions League football, represented better value-for-money at just £35 million — a fraction of what Grealish would have cost.
City, meanwhile, shifted their focus onto the defence and spent almost £100 million on centre-backs Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake. This summer, though, Grealish shot up to the top of the wishlist alongside Kane. They knew that if they were to hit the £100 million figure, Villa would consider selling their captain.
Grealish was genuinely excited at the start of last season following a lengthy chat with Sawiris which convinced him to sign a five-year deal. Had either City or United come in with a formal bid, he would have been keen on discussing a move but there was no bid. Committing to leaving Villa was always incredibly difficult, though, and it weighed heavily on his mind.
Last summer was different to 2018 when Tottenham were on the verge of signing him. Grealish thought the play-off final defeat by Fulham that May was going to be his last Villa game and he lay on his bed at their London hotel after the match feeling lost and deflated at the prospect of another season in the Championship. He was gutted by Villa’s failure to win promotion — which they would achieve in the same fixture a year later —but in time felt excited about what the future looked like for him at Sp**s.
When Sawiris and co-owner Wes Edens took over at Villa and immediately blocked the move, he was disappointed at missing out on the opportunity of Champions League football with Tottenham and had to regain his focus.
Leaving Villa back then was considerably easier than with the club in the Premier League, but now feels very much like the right time for him. Last season he watched the Champions League in envy, with some of his younger England team-mates shining in a competition in which he’s yet to feature. As he turns 26 next month, Grealish decided he couldn’t wait any longer for such an opportunity.
One of his favourite players, Kevin De Bruyne, also pulled him to one side after England played Belgium in the Nations League last year to tell him that he was a brilliant performer in his own right, and would fit in well at City.
During the European Championship this summer, Grealish was able to find out everything he wanted to know about City from the relevant representatives in the squad. Sterling and Foden are going to be two of his direct rivals for game-time this season, but he gets on well with both and was able to learn more about his new club while he was away on England duty.
The families of England’s players all mingled too and discussed possible summer transfers. Grealish and Kane’s names were always the most popular.
Grealish will be playing alongside Raheem Sterling for City too this season (Photo: Eddie Keogh – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
But while there were suggestions among England team-mates that Kane may not return to Tottenham training on time after the Euros, there were no such doubts around Grealish. It was hoped a deal could be agreed in advance of him reporting back to Villa on August 1, but it quickly became apparent that wouldn’t be possible.
Grealish, it has been said, cut a frustrated figure at Villa’s training camp in west London. He insisted on remaining respectful to the club, but as the days dragged on and the complexities around the deal could not be ironed out quickly, his mood deteriorated. A member of Villa’s security team followed his moves around the facility as spectators asked for pictures and updates on his situation.
Villa again made their intentions for the future clear. They signed winger Bailey from German club Leverkusen for £30 million as further evidence of their ambition, but it wasn’t enough. Grealish had already made up his mind and was simply waiting for his big move to go through.
Villa wanted three new attackers to help fill the void. Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse remains on the radar after a £25 million bid was rejected, while Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham and Manchester United defender Axel Tuanzebe, who spent 18 months on loan to Villa from January 2018, still appeal.
The early-summer signings — Norwich City playmaker Emiliano Buendia and Villa old boy Ashley Young — were told clearly that they were coming in to play with Grealish rather than to be used as part of replacing him. Convincing new recruits about the club’s ambitions going forward will certainly take a hit as Grealish was so much more than just Villa’s star performer out on the pitch.
In the past, he helped convince Abraham and Ross Barkley to join them on loan from Chelsea, and was even used to help the academy and the women’s team sign players with his encouraging and friendly face-to-face conversations around the training ground.
Grealish’s face is often the first one supporters see when they visit Villa Park. His picture alongside boss Dean Smith is positioned at the top of the North Stand exterior and overlooks the car park. Villa have recovered from high-profile departures in the past, but this is going to take some time to get over. Supporters are numb and already feeling his absence.
City, meanwhile, are flexing their muscles further by making a huge push to strengthen.
Spending this amount of money on one player is a major departure from City’s usual, self-imposed spending limits on individuals.
In recent years they have broken their club record fee several times, but it has gone up only incrementally from around £50 million for the likes of Kyle Walker and Benjamin Mendy, to around £60 million for Riyad Mahrez and Aymeric Laporte, and finally to £63 million last summer for Dias.
The club are incredibly wary of how their spending is perceived and are quick to give their versions of transfer fees, in a world where add-ons can be used by the selling and buying club to make a deal look bigger or smaller. Guardiola had said earlier this year that City could not pay the kind of figures being touted around for a striker, and yet they would be prepared to pay around £130 million for Kane and have now agreed a £100 million deal for Grealish.
Grealish is now the most expensive signing in Premier League history (Photo: Marc Atkins/Getty Images )
In a COVID-19 affected market and on the back of record club losses, these are big moves, but it must be said that City have been sitting on a sizable transfer kitty since last summer, and they have raised plenty of cash through the sales of young players and those brought into the City Football Group. City old boy Jadon Sancho’s move to Manchester United from Borussia Dortmund has earned them £11.3 million, too.
Bernardo Silva is expecting to move on soon and has made arrangements to leave his city-centre apartment with Juventus and Atletico Madrid interested. Gabriel Jesus could also go, to facilitate a deal for Kane if Tottenham change their stance.
City have pulled out all the stops this summer in a bid to freshen things up. The Athletic revealed at the end of last season that several players had become unhappy with their share of game-time, but in a difficult market for most clubs it was always unlikely that a raft of sales would be possible. It is something Guardiola confirmed at his press conference on Friday.
Instead of aiming for four or five new players to rejuvenate the squad, City set their sights on two major arrivals — designed to add energy, impetus and a real cutting edge. And the fact that Grealish and Kane, who is unlikely to arrive in this window, are both top England internationals is no coincidence.
There is a suspicion among Premier League clubs that Brexit will dictate that stricter homegrown quotas could be imposed on English football in the next year or so, and if that were to be the case then players such as Grealish and Kane would cost even more.
For now, though, it’s time for City to enjoy Grealish. The most expensive Premier League signing in history. The player who gripped the nation all summer despite only playing a bit-part role in England’s run to the European Championship final, and a player tasked with finally helping the club land that coveted Champions League title.
The deal was intense and complicated from start to finish and The Athletic can now explain that:
- Grealish’s release clause of £100 million was added last summer and was set to expire today, August 7
- City did not know about the clause, which allowed Villa to stall
- The negotiations were led by City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak and Villa co-owner Nassef Sawiris
- Villa delayed as long as possible so they could sign players
- There was dialogue with Real Madrid and Manchester United as Villa preferred not to do business with City
- Grealish is signing a six-year deal worth £300,000 per week plus bonuses and has the opportunity to earn significantly more
- The goodbye speech in the Villa dressing room on Wednesday
- How City kept the fact he’ll wear their No 10 shirt a secret from him.
mirrorstare
Well-Known Member
Grealish will make that team watchable again, can't wait
He's that good
He's that good
Country: England
Yeah, 100m over 3 years is nowhere near as bad as what it sounded like. Interesting he turned down Utd and Madrid supposedly as well. Turns out his clause was real in the end.
I see this is where the quote come from, that the twitter accounts are bandying about everywhere.
Riou
In The Winchester, Waiting For This To Blow Over
Country: Northern Ireland
Player:Gabriel
They have won a lot of trophies before today, and will win a lot of trophies after today...but it's always very nice seeing these ****s lose, disgusting club on every level.
Country: England
Yeah, Aston Villa were desperate to not sell to them. Seems several of the premiership teams are sick of them, they are fast turning this league into a farmers league if they haven't already.
