Jack Grealish transfer: Tottenham reaction to multi-million demands
Tottenham refused to pay the additional £5million Aston Villa wanted to sign Jack Grealish, Andy Goldstein has said.
Speaking on talkSPORT (2 January, 5:44pm), Goldstein and Darren Bent discussed Grealish’s future with the Premier League champions, after Spurs were linked with signing the England winger this month.
City could demand north of £50m for any club to sign the 29-year-old, but Goldstein and Bent argued that Spurs doing so would be unlikely given their prior unwillingness to pay over the odds for Grealish before his last move.
Goldstein said: “He nearly went to Spurs but they wouldn’t stump up an extra like £4million for him.”
“£5million it was, five”, Bent added.
Jack Grealish transfer would be head-scratcher for Tottenham
Although Goldstein and Bent didn’t specify when Spurs’ previous transfer decision on Grealish was made, it is clear that the City star’s value is on a downward slope as he approaches his 30th birthday.
While Grealish still has the ability to be a world-beater on his day, Ange Postecoglou and the Lilywhites’ hierarchy have a whole list of more pressing transfer needs this month than signing luxury wingers.
The Australian has a deluge of widemen at his disposal when all players are fully fit, and any move for Grealish would only restrict game-time for the likes of Mikey Moore and Wilson Odobert.
Instead, Spurs’ injury-hit defence is what needs the most attention this month, with several centre-backs already being targeted following lengthy injury lay-offs for Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven.
Central defensive reinforcements should be the only priority for Postecoglou as he looks to stem the flow of goals being shipped in North London, and Spurs therefore look likely to pass on Grealish once again.
In other Tottenham news, one under-fire Spurs man could be on his way out amid interest in a leading Championship stalwart.
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