Man City aim to acquire Jack Grealish with £100m in 48 hours

Jack Grealish of England after losing UEFA European Championship Final against Italy at Wembley Stadium in London, England, July 11, 2021. /CFP

Manchester City is trying to sign English midfielder Jack Grealish from Aston Villa before the FA Community Shield game against Leicester City at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, reported ESPN.

The Premier League defending champions are willing to pay 100 million pounds (about $139 million) to land Grealish, whom manager Pep Guardiola considered as one of the two key targets this summer. The other is Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur.

The five-year contract signed by Grealish with Villa does not necessarily discourage the 25-year-old from seeking to go to the City of Manchester Stadium. The only question is when and for what price.

Villas definitely do not want to watch their best player leave, but their backup plan has already been in place. In June, the club spent a franchise record of 33 million pounds (about $45.9 million) to introduce Emi Buendia from Norwich.

Suppose Grealish arrives in Man City at 100 million pounds (about $139 million). In that case, he will not only surpass Kevin de Bruyne (76 million euros, which are about $89.9 million) to become the most expensive player in Man City history but also beat Harry Maguire (80 million pounds, which are about $111.3 million) to be the most expensive English player.

Romelu Lukaku of Inter Milan during a practice session at the club's training ground Suning Training Center at Appiano Gentile in Como, Italy, July 26, 2021. /CFP

However, Grealish may stay in that position for too long because Chelsea is trying to bring Romelu Lukaku to Stanford Stadium at a possibly higher price.

Recently Inter Milan rejected Chelsea's second offer of 85 million pounds (about $118.3 million) plus Marcos Alonso for Lukaku. However, according to Sky Sports, Chelsea's next offer may grow to as much as 102 million pounds (about $141.9 million).

"I will not talk about players who don't play in my squad. And Romelu Lukaku is a fantastic player but he's a player from Inter and it's with all the respect I will not talk about him in this situation," said Chelsea's manager Thomas Tuchel.