Jack Grealish has jeopardised a dream move to Manchester United after allegedly crashing his car following a late night party.
Sportsmail understands that United are clear favourites to sign Grealish from Aston Villa, and a deal worth up to £80million is still expected to go through in the summer.
However, United will be monitoring events after police launched an investigation into the incident in a Birmingham suburb on Sunday morning.
It's alleged that Grealish crashed his £70,000 Range Rover into parked cars in the Dickens Heath area of Solihull where he had been at a party hosted by former Villa teammate Ross McCormack - hours after a posting a video telling his Twitter followers to stay at home amid the coronavirus pandemic.
On Monday the 24-year-old issued an apology on social media for 'stupidly' going out, and Villa confirmed that their captain has been fined for breaching government guidelines.
West Midlands Police hope CCTV footage will shed light on the events that led to Grealish apparently standing near the scene of the car accident on Sunday morning and he was then pictured walking away before officers arrived.
Depending on the outcome of the police investigation, it could yet have implications for Grealish's move to United and a player who has earned himself a party boy reputation off the pitch.
He has previously been pictured inhaling nitrous oxide, commonly known as hippy crack, and was reprimanded by Villa in 2015 after a photograph emerged of him sprawled on a Tenerife street following a drinking binge.
United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has worked hard to instil discipline in his squad since returning to the club 15 months ago and warned earlier this season that any players who didn't behave themselves could be shown the door.
'When you're a footballer you should be proper boring,' said Solskjaer. 'You go to bed, you rest, you recover and you get ready for the next game. That's the culture we need to get to.
'If you don't sacrifice, you're just passing through.' The latest controversy involving Grealish comes at a time when he has established himself as a player of genuine quality in the Premier League and was pushing for a senior England call-up.
He tried to limit the damage on Monday by apologising for his actions, saying: 'I just want to do a quick video message about how deeply embarrassed I am by everything that has happened this weekend.
'I know it is a tough time for everyone at the moment being locked in doors for so long, and I got a call off a friend asking to go round to his. I stupidly agreed to do so.
'I hope everyone can accept my apology and we can move on from this and in the near future we can be out enjoying ourselves again once this has all boiled over.' Villa announced that Grealish's fine would be donated to a hospitals charity, saying: 'Club captain Jack Grealish has accepted that his decision to leave his house was wrong and entirely unnecessary. The player will be disciplined and fined.'
