Manchester City have confirmed the signing of Jack Grealish from Aston Villa.
The 25-year-old moves on a deal reportedly worth £100 million, making him both the most expensive English player of all time and the most expensive signing by a Premier League club.
After signing a six-year deal at the Etihad Grealish said: “I am incredibly happy to have joined Manchester City. City are the best team in the country with a manager considered to be the best in the world – it’s a dream come true to be part of this club.
Grealish’ situation at Villa
Conventional wisdom tends to dictate that the best players at a club like Villa will, inevitably, end up at clubs like Man City due to the fact that they challenge for major trophies and have more money.
A star at Villa Park last season, Grealish was instrumental in a much-improved campaign for Dean Smith’s side, at least until an injury late on in 2020/21, with those performances earning him a place in the England squad for Euro 2020. The creative attacker played five times at the tournament, starting once, and providing two assists along the way as the Three Lions reached the final.
He signed a new long-term contract with Villa last season, which tied him to the club through to 2025, but City’s huge bid has convinced the Midlands club to part ways with him and they have already taken steps to replace him with the signings of Emi Buendia from Norwich and, on Wednesday, Leon Bailey from Bayer Leverkusen.
However, Grealish isn’t just some kid that’s happy to use Villa as a stepping stone to greater things. The 25-year-old talent came through the club’s youth system and is unquestionably an avid fan of the club. Which naturally means Grealish has a stronger bond with the club and a degree of loyalty that will cost more to overcome.
Is he worth £100 million?
While £100 million may be a lot of money to you and me, in footballing terms it’s value as a transfer fee only means as much as the transfer that came before it and the one that comes after it.
As such, the only way we can gauge if Grealish is worth £100 million is by comparing him to some of the Premier League’s best players and the fees they either cost or are now unquestionably worth. Fortunately, the English top-flight has plenty of examples to pick from.
So far this season, Grealish has bagged five assists in the Premier League. Which puts him second only to Harry Kane, with more than Kai Havertz, Diogo Jota, Nicolas Pepe and Riyad Mahrez combined. The Villa midfielder also has five goals in nine games, which has him sitting level with Liverpool’s Jota, but again ahead of Mahrez (four), Pepe (one) and Havertz (one).
That will undoubtedly come as good news for Villa and their bank manager, since Jota cost Liverpool £41 million, Mahrez cost Man City £60 million, Havertz cost Chelsea £62 million and Pepe cost Arsenal £72 million. And while none of those fees are as much as Grealish’s proposed worth, it suggests a player in better form and potentially more ability would probably be worth close to £100 million.
Another factor which may play into Villa’s hands if they end up negotiating with Man United is the fact that United happily handed over £89 million for Paul Pogba four years ago. And while the Frenchman hasn’t exactly turned out to be the talent they hoped he would be, signing Grealish for just £11 million more seems pretty logical in comparison.
Whether Grealish does make the move to City or United remains to be seen and the price tag attached to the player will be dictated by market trends that could vary widely between now and then. But based on the going rate for an attacking midfielder in the Premier League and what each club has spent on previous players, it seems as though £100 million for the Villa midfielder may not be the worst deal in the world.