Jack Grealish / signs new 5 year contract

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Mr. Ant said:
We need to get him in. I just hope Villa won't play hardball. He's a leader and offers something different to our main midfielders.

We need good players in our squad because the drop in quality is horrible to watch. Imagine if Pogba or Bruno are injured or need a break during the season.
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Villa not playing hardball is like asking a Brummie not to sound like he's moaning everytime he opens his mouth
 
Inigo Montoya said:
Zaha will go for what? 40-50?
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I think £40m at most. But he was basically forced to stick out another 2 seasons or so and will probably end up at Everton-level when he could’ve probably ended up a little bit higher if he was priced fairly.
 
When Grealish plays his best, he is world class. But I think he fluctuates too much in level and I'm not that interested in getting him to United. I compare his fluctuating performances with Zaha, who can also be fantastic, but maybe comes to a big club again because he has too many matches where he falls out. The same goes for Grealish in my eyes.
 
Hester_manc said:
When Grealish plays his best, he is world class. But I think he fluctuates too much in level and I'm not that interested in getting him to United. I compare his fluctuating performances with Zaha, who can also be fantastic, but maybe comes to a big club again because he has too many matches where he falls out. The same goes for Grealish in my eyes.
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it's a lot more difficult to be consistent at a struggling club than at a big club. You could say that about a number of players who've made that move. Mane at Pool being a prime example.
 
In Rainbows said:
What my post said is that they performed similarly in the Championship albeit in different ways. Grealish was the more efficient dribbler, although attempted fewer as you can see by the success rate and number of fouls he received greater than Benrahma. Benrahma's key passes were superior to Grealish's but the output was similar based on the fact that his had a larger number from set pieces. Benrahma benefited from pens in this past season while Grealish did not have any.

The point wasn't to say who was superior or inferior (apart from specific facts), but to say they were similar players when playing at a similar level and would be cheaper.

They would be bought as depth pieces so whether Grealish is more of a midfielder compared to Benrahma doesn't make too much difference because a number of our players are quite versatile and could easily slot in each others' positions. For example, Grealish could play as a 10 or on the left wing. Pogba could play a deeper role like right now, or be the most advanced player in a midfield 3, thus covering for Bruno.


Benrahma could cover for Bruno in that he's quite clearly more aggressive than Grealish hence the higher end product, more attempts at doing things (I should have included his shooting attempt numbers) like attempted dribbles.


In the same reason why DVB isn't exactly like Grealish, but no distinction is made in exact style, so to did I bring up Benrahma. We simply need more bodies in general that could be of a certain quality. It doesn't matter too much in terms of playing style, as opposed to quality above the level of Daniel James, Pereira, etc... Note how James and Pereira aren't the same players either. If they were of higher quality we wouldn't be having this same kind of discussion.
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Have you actually seen him play? Could you give a few words on his qualities without sounding like you are reading from a spreadsheet?

Suedesi said:
Right, so why the fck should United spend nearly more than double on Grealish than they did on Bruno? One's a starter, the other would be a bench warmer / impact sub.

I get it that Villa value him highly, but Grealish's value to United is considerably less. (Unless Grealish can play RW)

And since you mentioned AWB, it was a price we had to pay after neglecting the RB position for ages and having a floundering Antonio Valencia play 3-4 seasons more than he should have had. We were just desperate to make it right. We needed a RB. So we paid what we thought would be a large fee for someone that could make that position his for the next decade. We're not desperate for an AM who will be a squad option at the moment.

So just to summarize, I would overpay for a right winger as we desperately need one. Maybe overpay for a good DLP if one's available. I would pay a fair amount for an attacking midfielder who will strengthen the bench/squad. 80m is not what I would consider a fair amount for Grealish (by a factor of 1.75-2x).
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UNITED ACADEMY said:
If you are paying big money means you want to play them as your regular players. You see the importance of the player in the team when you sign them. Whether it will work out or no then it's another story. We want Grealish at the moment as a squad player not as a regular player. After the performance that Rashford, Martial & Bruno showed so far, I doubt the club will say hey let's spend 80m on Grealish because one of those three will turn into flop and the 80m we are going to spend on Grealish will be paid off.
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Where have I said we should spend £80m on Grealish? Villa may well value him that highly - that is my only point. We paid £50m for an unskilled right back, and £80m for a centre half, from this league. Grealish is a technical, creative midfielder who had a strong season. Why would Villa consider the fact that we only want him as a luxury backup option? That's not their concern.
 
For once it would be lovley to have bunch of options in the middle of the pitch. Apart from dribbling I don't think there is an aspect of his game where he is better than Bruno. Being english is going to raise his price offcourse but if we don't know a cheaper euro alternative we should definetly sign him. Adding James to the deal (as someone said earlier) seems like good business for all parties.

United: cheaper deal for Grealish
Villa: young promising winger
James: more playing time to evolve
Grealish: obvious
 
I want him badly but I can't see it until we sell a raft of players. I don't even think the club would want another protracted saga over a player they want mainly to add depth and quality but not necessarily the starting XI.
 
sherrinford said:
Where have I said we should spend £80m on Grealish? Villa may well value him that highly - that is my only point. We paid £50m for an unskilled right back, and £80m for a centre half, from this league. Grealish is a technical, creative midfielder who had a strong season. Why would Villa consider the fact that we only want him as a luxury backup option? That's not their concern.
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My point is that the idea of that valuation is not just based on what the player offers but also taking advantage of clubs who are desperate to sign the player. No one is going to pay such a money on Grealish right now since lot of these top 4 clubs are not desperate for attacking mid. While Crystal Palace & Leicester know that we were desperate to sign those two to be our regular player and they were right to play hard ball to get big money from them.
 
People really think he would warm the bench?

We have basically no rest period this summer and if we want to take every competition we'll play in seriously we need more options in the squad.

Competition for places is always important. This season we couldn't rest players and if Pogba or Bruno get injured or they get tired we are back to playing zombie football and losing against Burnley. Is that what people want? Of course the same people who don't want us to sign Grealish will then blame Ole for any dip in form.
 
The only way i see them reducing that price is if Grealish and Villa reach an understanding. We definitely can't 'scare' them to reducing their price by looking elsewhere. Or any other negotiation tactic
 
Mr. Ant said:
People really think he would warm the bench?

We have basically no rest period this summer and if we want to take every competition we'll play in seriously we need more options in the squad.

Competition for places is always important. This season we couldn't rest players and if Pogba or Bruno get injured or they get tired we are back to playing zombie football and losing against Burnley. Is that what people want? Of course the same people who don't want us to sign Grealish will then blame Ole for any dip in form.
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Look at it this way, bar injuries and rest can you see him displacing any of our front 4 (provided we get Sancho)?
 
Fracture90 said:
Look at it this way, bar injuries and rest can you see him displacing any of our front 4 (provided we get Sancho)?
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Why not? He will work his socks off and you know that different players suit different play styles and are more productive against different teams.
City had basically 4 starting wingers in their squad two years ago. Ole can't even change the momentum of the game because are subs don't offer anything.
Imagine if one of our players is having a bad day and you can send another creative player on the pitch.

Also I'm not saying sign Grealish at any cost. If he can push Villa to let him go at around 40m including addons then we should sign him. If they want 80m for him they can go feck themselves and he will be stuck there.
 
Mr. Ant said:
Why not? He will work his socks off and you know that different players suit different play styles and are more productive against different teams.
City had basically 4 starting wingers in their squad two years ago. Ole can't even change the momentum of the game because are subs don't offer anything.
Imagine if one of our players is having a bad day and you can send another creative player on the pitch.

Also I'm not saying sign Grealish at any cost. If he can push Villa to let him go at around 40m including addons then we should sign him. If they want 80m for him they can go feck themselves and he will be stuck there.
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Whom is he going to displace? Martial? Highly doubt that. Rashford? Doubt that as well considering all the tracking back he's doing coupled with his ability to use his pace to go past few opposition players. Sancho (provided we manage to bring him). He will be our star signing and will be given all the time needed to adapt, so nope. Bruno? No way, because even though they're both creative Bruno is a workhorse as well, he never stops running and he also tracks back to do his defensive duties.

I'm pretty sure that everyone and their dog would take Grealish for £40m but there's no way in hell Villa would let him go for that money. They're financially stable, they've bought themselves another season in the prem and Grealish is a very talented English player which involves the infamous 'English player tax'.
 
Is he as good as Bruno? No. So we shouldn't be paying any more than we got Bruno for. Simples.
 
Fracture90 said:
Whom is he going to displace? Martial? Highly doubt that. Rashford? Doubt that as well considering all the tracking back he's doing coupled with his ability to use his pace to go past few opposition players. Sancho (provided we manage to bring him). He will be our star signing and will be given all the time needed to adapt, so nope. Bruno? No way, because even though they're both creative Bruno is a workhorse as well, he never stops running and he also tracks back to do his defensive duties.
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They all have a higher top level than Grealish so if they are all playing at their best then they will be the regular starters. But he and Greenwood are close enough that if any of the four go through a rough patch suddenly they'll be sitting on the bench. Not to mention that Grealish might very well be a better option against lower teams who try to press us high up the pitch (the Southampton match would be a good example).

That competition for spots (along with the ability to rotate to keep players fresh) was always a big thing under Fergie. Our attacking players always had to really fight both on the pitch and on the training ground to keep their spots unless they took the step up to being truly world class like Cantona, Ruud, Ronaldo or Rooney. If any of our current players reach that level they'll truly cement their spots, but if not then let them fight it out.
 
MadDogg said:
They all have a higher top level than Grealish so if they are all playing at their best then they will be the regular starters. But he and Greenwood are close enough that if any of the four go through a rough patch suddenly they'll be sitting on the bench. Not to mention that Grealish might very well be a better option against lower teams who try to press us high up the pitch (the Southampton match would be a good example).

That competition for spots (along with the ability to rotate to keep players fresh) was always a big thing under Fergie. Our attacking players always had to really fight both on the pitch and on the training ground to keep their spots unless they took the step up to being truly world class like Cantona, Ruud, Ronaldo or Rooney. If any of our current players reach that level they'll truly cement their spots, but if not then let them fight it out.
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Is he that effective on the wings though? I think that Bruno would be his direct competition for the spot in starting 11. Either way i look at it i just can't see him displacing any of the front 4 for any significant period of time barring injuries or rest. Again I'm including Sancho in the mix ahead of Greenwood because he's projected to be our star signing this summer.

Again if the price is right, I'm all for strengthening our squad, but there are more pressing issues.
 
Ibrahimorich said:
Is he as good as Bruno? No. So we shouldn't be paying any more than we got Bruno for. Simples.
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That's not how it works though. Sporting needed to sell due to financial issues.

Villa have billionaire owners, they are in no hurry to sell their best player.
 
Skåre Willoch said:
Good post, especially the last part.

I think it's important when we buy new players, squad players or not, that they offer something different to what we already have. It's not just about how good they are or what position they play, it's also about what they're good at. Grealish definitely adds something we don't really have already, and that's very, very important.

Of course £80m is laughable, and he won't go for that much. But for a fair, or even slightly higher price, I think Grealish has a lot to offer ability wise. He can be utilized in so many different ways and provide something new/different when we need to change how we play to get an important goal or protect a lead.
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Yeah that is exactly how I see it as well
 
Jinn said:
We have got to get out of this small time mentality. We need strength in depth, but more important is quality in depth. If we can get him, we should get him. It's as simple as that.
Let the manager sit with the headache of team selection, that's what he's paid for.

For me, a successful transfer window will be the acquisition of a quality right winger, an attacking midfielder and a CB. At the very minimum we should get 2 of the 3.
Yes, selling dead wood is important etc. but if we don't strengthen, we can't solidify top 4 next season and move on to the next stage, which is to win the league.
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Yeah I would prefer quality in depth such as Jack rather than just quantity in depth who would just fill out the squad.

Like a previous poster has said he would offer this team something different that we don't already have which could make the difference in tight games next season.

My gut feeling though is he's probably open to joining us but don't think he wants the move bad enough to upset the Villa hierarchy.
 
croadyman said:
Yeah I would prefer quality in depth such as Jack rather than just quantity in depth who would just fill out the squad.

Like a previous poster has said he would offer this team something different that we don't already have which could make the difference in tight games next season.

My gut feeling though is he's probably open to joining us but don't think he wants the move bad enough to upset the Villa hierarchy.
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Agreed. Our problem at the moment is we have a lot of quantity but not a lot of quality. Look at the players on City's bench compared to ours for example. We shouldn't be looking at players as first team players and bench players - think of every player as a squad player and the fact is we need more quality in our squad. The starting 11 will be decided on merit each and every game and we need 15 top class players to pick from if we want to compete, right now we barely have 8 or 9 of them.
 
Prodigal7 said:
Agreed. Our problem at the moment is we have a lot of quantity but not a lot of quality. Look at the players on City's bench compared to ours for example. We shouldn't be looking at players as first team players and bench players - think of every player as a squad player and the fact is we need more quality in our squad. The starting 11 will be decided on merit each and every game and we need 15 top class players to pick from if we want to compete, right now we barely have 8 or 9 of them.
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Yeah I think we should adopt a sort of horses for courses approach,so in games where we will get pressed more then play Grealish,however if the team just sits in then you play Bruno instead.

He could also cover Rashford on the LW as well in games where Marcus is just failing to have any effect on the game.

This shouldn't be a case of Utd not knowing where he fits into this team because the answers are there.
 
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croadyman said:
Yeah I think we should adopt a sort of horses for courses approach,so in games where we will get pressed more then play Grealish,however if the team just sits in then you play Bruno instead.

He could also cover Rashford on the LW as well in games where Marcus is just failing to have any effect on the game.
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You have to also pick players based on how they train and perform, it's a huge part of winning sides that fans don't appreciate. Rashford is getting a free pass from fans and the press. He's been nothing short of dreadful recently especially the last 5 games, but not a single person in the press will say it, whilst criticism for Maguire, Pogba etc has been really sensationalized. If we sign Sancho and Grealish then Rashford will need to up his game a lot. I think Ole knows we really need competition for places in attack especially (he's mentioned it multiple times), as there's pretty much zero threat to Martial, Rashford etc when they have a bad game which can be very often - we have no other options at the moment.
 
Prodigal7 said:
Rashford is getting a free pass from fans and the press. He's been nothing short of dreadful recently especially the last 5 games, but not a single person in the press will say it, whilst criticism for Maguire, Pogba etc has been really sensationalized. If we sign Sancho and Grealish then Rashford will need to up his game a lot. I think Ole knows we really need competition for places in attack especially (he's mentioned it multiple times), as there's pretty much zero threat to Martial, Rashford etc when they have a bad game which can be very often - we have no other options at the moment.
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Yeah there is no doubt apart from a couple of moments he has really struggled since the restart
 
Imagine scenario where we're against typical defensive PL side, 10 minutes left and it's typical United's frustrating performance when oppo's defense won't budge. We need impact subs to come and find gaps in defense and this lad bailed out Villa so many times in these kind of situations, they could write book about his two seasons there.

The price I get it, it's absurd and has no relation to Covid reality, but sometimes I get the awkward vibe people subconsciously want to see Lingard, Pereira and even Mata sending us back outside top 4 next season with their typical mild performances. Ffs, even limited player like Fellaini had a bigger impact then our current bench.

Even if we won't get Grealish we definitely need player like him with actual impact on the game. There's no way around it.
 
Think we're in a good position with this one because we're not desperate for him. It's not like Maguire last year where everyone could see we needed a CB.

If Villa ask for silly money we can walk away and actually mean it. Grealish migHt ask them to accept something lower because there's no way any club are paying 60-80m
 
On the one hand, bringing him in makes massive sense in upping our quality.

But on the other hand, can anyone see him being less than £50m? I can't.
But can anyone see us booting out £150-200m net in a summer? Again, I can't.

We could probably rustle up 60m either in player sales, or Sanchez's wage reduction, but it's still a stretch to see Sancho and Grealish in one window.
 
Sandikan said:
On the one hand, bringing him in makes massive sense in upping our quality.

But on the other hand, can anyone see him being less than £50m? I can't.
But can anyone see us booting out £150-200m net in a summer? Again, I can't.

We could probably rustle up 60m either in player sales, or Sanchez's wage reduction, but it's still a stretch to see Sancho and Grealish in one window.
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Honestly i can't even see him going for as low as £50m (as absurd as that sounds).
 
Sky saying unlikely, with the price at 80 million. Think he’d be a good signing but there are decent alternatives around. Havertz, Aouar, VDB are all different players but would all add to your squad, probably for much less money.
 
sherrinford said:
Have you actually seen him play? Could you give a few words on his qualities without sounding like you are reading from a spreadsheet?
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Better to hear from a Brentford fan who posted a few days ago in his thread which I and many others read to get more info on him. Guess I should have added that to my original post adding more of a statistical context to what he described.


el diablorojo said:
Ever since he has arrived that's how I've been describing him to fans who know nothing but the Premier League :D the "Championship Hazard"
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el diablorojo said:
Well that's an interesting point actually, Mbuemo has settled into the English game a lot faster than Benrahma did when he arrived in 2018 that is certainly true, Benrahma took a while to adapt. Since the re-start though he (Said) has to be the most inform player in the country and certainly in the league.

They are certainly different types of players in that Said has far more tricks to his game and Mbuemo is the quicker and stronger of the two. I would also say that Mbuemo is the more natural finisher of the two with Said having done a lot of work to get to the standard he is currently setting. Mbuemo has come with a much bigger reputation than Benrahma and it raised a few eyebrows in France when he came to us but Said has that bit of magic about him. Said is head and shoulders above any other player I've seen at Griffin Park but can see why people see Mbuemo as having the potential to go on to bigger and better things.
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el diablorojo said:
Vastly superior to James on the technical level in fact the only thing James has on him is pace and being a few years younger.

£15m well depends how much the pandemic has deflated transfer fees but £20m plus addons would start a conversation, Villa tried and failed to get him for around £15m already last summer.
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el diablorojo said:
Grealish would already have been on Prem wages though with Villa - this lad we picked up from OGC Nice and he wasn't even featuring in their first team. Villa had a massive wage budget in the Championship, we have the fourth lowest - you are comparing apples to oranges. The link with Chelsea doesn't massively surprise me as Lampard would have seen him up close last season and the lad has the talent and character to make it imo.
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Rocksy said:
Sky saying unlikely, with the price at 80 million. Think he’d be a good signing but there are decent alternatives around. Havertz, Aouar, VDB are all different players but would all add to your squad, probably for much less money.
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Pretty confident Havertz is joining Chelsea and Aouar looks City bound if he leaves. I like VDB but despite the bigger fee involved just feel that Grealish and Utd are made for each other
 
croadyman said:
Pretty confident Havertz is joining Chelsea and Aouar looks City bound if he leaves. I like VDB but despite the bigger fee involved just feel that Grealish and Utd are made for each other
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Honestly would be sad if Pep gets Aouar when he has Foden. I wouldn't be surprised though.
 
Fracture90 said:
Is he that effective on the wings though? I think that Bruno would be his direct competition for the spot in starting 11. Either way i look at it i just can't see him displacing any of the front 4 for any significant period of time barring injuries or rest. Again I'm including Sancho in the mix ahead of Greenwood because he's projected to be our star signing this summer.
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Grealish spent most of this season playing on the left for Villa. I suspect he would be mostly rotating with Rashford and Bruno (and possibly a bit with Pogba as well), while Greenwood would be rotating with Sancho and Martial. But other than maybe Bruno the other five can all play in numerous positions across the entire front line and we could rotate as we wish.
 
VP89 said:
It's actually coming from v reliable journos who can't all be wrong. Smiths interviews pretty much verify Grealishs mind is elsewhere and Grealish himself has suggested it with his cryptic answers.

And no it's not that simple, because Villa will risk pissing him off from an unrealistic demand. That can get quite toxic as the window stretches on. Moreover Villa will need to replace him, as they have no replacement close to his ability that's in the squad. So it's in their best interest to complete the deal with time to buy their own players too.
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So speculation and more wishful thinking then.

Assuming Villa do intend to sell, I'd imagine they'd want to do it as quickly as they can. But that doesn't mean they should lower their asking price just to make it happen. If United want to drag it out, that's on them.

Like I said, being financially stable gives Villa a strong hand. They don't need to sell. But if y'all are serious and make an offer in line with what they value the player then it might be on. Assuming any of this is even true of course.
 
jamesjimmybyrondean said:
I've said this before but people will ignore how City actually came about their quality squad depth. It's quite abnormal to spend above 40m for a player about to enter his prime to come and play rotation. How many times has this actually happened??
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Abnormal back when 40m got you the best player in the world maybe.

Besides, which upper tier club would sign and guarantee him starts?

Would you want to be the main man at Villa with all the pressure and attention on you all the time? With the best shot at glory being maybe the Carabao and avoiding relegation every year.

Or go to a club like United (who you are a fan of) and be part of this project, play a decent amount of minutes in rotation and fight for the starting lineup when players have offperiods like Bruno and Rashford recently. And even if you just have a medium game there are loads of other stars at the club to take all the critique and attention off you. Likely make a lot more money as well, plus become a more wellknown name. Might actually improve his chances at a England cap as well, if he can play well at a high level.
 
Fracture90 said:
Think that will only be possible if he goes to an open war with Villa.
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Do you think he has that in him to do that to his boyhood club who gave him his big break, personally I can't see that happening myself but have probably said the same about other players in a similar position and been proved wrong before.
 
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