Jack Grealish

Probably an unpopular opinion, but for me Grealish would be a better option and would offer more on the left wing/inside forward position than Rashford would.

So if we did buy him, for me the bigger dilemma would be what to do with rashford.

The form Grealish is in right now, it'd be a case of Grealish plays, and who else does around him.

Can he sustain it? Will we be talking the same in 2months? We'll see.
I sort of hope so as Villa are superb to watch right now.
 
Grealish fits in on the left. So unless you're dropping Rashford then there isn't much point getting him.

He doesn't start ahead of Bruno in the middle and neither Bruno nor Grealish should drop deeper to accommodate the other.

United have messed about a bit too much buying players then tweaking their positions.

If he came here, it'd be strictly to play in his best position, which is wide left.
 
Still remember him picking ball up from halfway line and going past 2-3 Arsenal players with ease in the home game (exact same run he did on Sunday). Problem last season is he was slipping ball through to Kienan Davis who last scored a league goal in 2017 and it inevitably went just wide. Watkins scored identical chance last match no problem so will be huge difference to the all important numbers come May.
Yup. I see him hitting double figures for goals and assists with ease this season. He's already more than halfway there anyway. He might even just get the 30 goal involvement another poster mentioned earlier.
 
Interested you said this, as having had him in my fantasy footy team for a few game weeks early doors, I watched him closely, and he doesn't actually seem to get very near the box at all. No wonder he doesn't win pens!

2 goals in 8 league games this season. One the pen v us.
Yeah, Arteta is playing him as a defensive winger this season. What I said only applies last season and prior.
 
The reason I'm okay with Grealish as a left sided player is because he isnt just another Rashford, Martial or Sancho.

He is a different type of player, a creative player rather than an inverted forward which we have bucket loads of.
 
He's also just signed a new 5 year deal btw. Contract length also impacts on transfer fee.

Ashley Young was averaging about 10 goals a season and similar number of assists in each of his seasons. In the end went for about 17m which is way less than we wanted but had little choice with just a year left on his deal.

Jack could've just sat on the 4 year deal he signed in August 2018 and saw how this season panned and then we'd have little choice to let him go for 40m next summer.

One more case study for a player who'd just signed a 5 year deal:

https://www.skysports.com/football/...charlison-everton-reject-barcelonas-85m-offer

No it doesn’t because before Grealish signed a new deal, you already set the same price so this new deal actually doesn’t impact on the fee but just to keep the player happy.

Everton actually asked 80m for Richarlison in January 2019 aka pre covid and just like Grealish no one is paying that ridiculous money. All the attackers were sold in that range of price actually produced and showed more than what Richarlison & Grealish produced so far.
 
No it doesn’t because before Grealish signed a new deal, you already set the same price so this new deal actually doesn’t impact on the fee but just to keep the player happy.

Everton actually asked 80m for Richarlison in January 2019 aka pre covid and just like Grealish no one is paying that ridiculous money. All the attackers were sold in that range of price actually produced and showed more than what Richarlison & Grealish produced so far.
It does impact it, because he'd have longer left on his contract now than he did at the start of the summer.
 
It does impact it, because he'd have longer left on his contract now than he did at the start of the summer.

If it does on Grealish’s case then you wouldn’t ask the same price (at the start of the summer) before he signed the new contract.
 
United have messed about a bit too much buying players then tweaking their positions.

If he came here, it'd be strictly to play in his best position, which is wide left.

I'd agree, in fact I actually think I'd like to see Rashford forced to become a number 9 because he's an instinctual player, he fails when he thinks too much.
 
Good lord. Technical ability does not just include being a good dribbler and holding on to the ball well. I would argue that Bruno has much wider range of technique than Grealish e.g. Bruno can also dribble and play in tight spaces whilst has a much better range of passing, vision, free-kicks, shooting etc. We've seen Bruno totally dominate in a much worse team than Utd at Sporting so that could provide a good indication of how he would do at Villa.

I seriously don’t think you watch grealish enough.

Grealish would start for us on the right. 100 percent.
 
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I’d honestly have him on the left of a 3 man midfield instead of pogba, carrying them ball from deep and committing defenders. I see so many similarities with Rui Costa and this is where id see him becoming even more effective
 
I’d honestly have him on the left of a 3 man midfield instead of pogba, carrying them ball from deep and committing defenders. I see so many similarities with Rui Costa and this is where id see him becoming even more effective

This is where he prefers to play too. I think that would be a good option for a more dominating team than Aston Villa. If he played for Man City, that would have been his position. At Man Utd it could be his position in some games and left wing in others.

There is positions where we have a greater need for players, but I’m not sure if there is alot of players that would improve us more. Due to the fee we could probably not say that it would be a low risk signing. But I do think there is a very high degree of certainty that he would improve us vastly. Not only because he is PL-proven, but because he is so talented. A bit like when Liverpool got van Dijk.
 
Hands up, never thought he had it in him to become the player he is today. Reminds me a little of the great Gunter Netzer. A modern version if you like. Love the way he strides past his oponents with the ball at his feet. The most valuable English footballer at present imv and so entertaining to watch.
 
I seriously don’t think you watch grealish enough.

Grealish would start for us on the right. 100 percent.
You are right. I don't watch Grealish enough but watch enough to think he's a smashing player and I definitely want him here.

I was just surprised at the poster claiming Grealish is twice the player Bruno is and others thinking he's got better technique.
 
I reckon we could have signed him for around £60m in the summer if we’d have pushed for it, but we were too preoccupied with unattainable targets as per usual. Would cost double that now of course.
 
I don't think he's coming to United after all. There are more attractive clubs that can pay him better and help him win more trophies, if he wishes to leave Villa.

We should have gone all-out for him before the season started. The Sancho obsession (?) plus our usual transfer-market inertia ruined what would have been one of our best signings in years.
 
The second he signed that new contract he said goodbye to signing for a top team.
He seems the type who is happy at his team though. And only a relegation will change that.
 
You are right. I don't watch Grealish enough but watch enough to think he's a smashing player and I definitely want him here.

I was just surprised at the poster claiming Grealish is twice the player Bruno is and others thinking he's got better technique.

Twice the player is harsh and impossible to say with certainty but he’s definitely up there with him, he just needs the stage.
 
I hope they do get relegated, it would certainly top my prayer list for the next six months. Please football God let them go down, sorry villa fans nothing personal just business. Hope during the summer we can swap Zakaria and Grealish for Matic and Pogba . Certainly think a Zakaria, Grealish and Bruno midfield is a better fit and as more balance to it than any we currently have and with vdb and Fred backing up we won't be short of options. Chuck in upamecano/konate alongside maguire and we are halfway there or there already depending on pellistri and diallo.
 
Man. City been linked with sort of 100m double bid for him and Douglas Luiz (Man. City have sort of 30m buy back clause with him). Pep's previously said he likes Grealish a lot but would cost too much so little has changed.
 
I hope they do get relegated, it would certainly top my prayer list for the next six months. Please football God let them go down, sorry villa fans nothing personal just business. Hope during the summer we can swap Zakaria and Grealish for Matic and Pogba . Certainly think a Zakaria, Grealish and Bruno midfield is a better fit and as more balance to it than any we currently have and with vdb and Fred backing up we won't be short of options. Chuck in upamecano/konate alongside maguire and we are halfway there or there already depending on pellistri and diallo.

Relegation? Dude, they crushed Liverpool 7-2, sweeped Arsenal 3-0 at the Emirates, beat Leicester away and currently sit on 15 points out of 21 before playing Brighton at home. They’ll comfortably be closer to top 4 than relegation this year, heck they’ll probably be within 10-12 points of Manchester United too.
 
I don't think he's coming to United after all. There are more attractive clubs that can pay him better and help him win more trophies, if he wishes to leave Villa.

We should have gone all-out for him before the season started. The Sancho obsession (?) plus our usual transfer-market inertia ruined what would have been one of our best signings in years.

Firstly, quit with your pessimistic bullshit in the first paragraph. You read like some troll-bot on Twitter! United can pay him just as well, if not better, than any club in the world. No team can guarantee you trophies long term, especially at the moment in the PL.

Secondly, we probably would have signed him over VdB, but after Villa stayed up they would have wanted around £80mil, even before his form this season. Seeing as we already have Rashford and Fernandes in his best positions, that outlay would have not made sense. This is why we chased Sancho so hard, he plays in a position at actually need a starting talent. I'm sure Grealish could play on the right, but it's kind of like buying a Ferrari to take the kids to school and do the shopping, it's not going to get the best what it's made for.

Grealish is turning into a great player, and might well leave for a bigger club for a lot of money, but I personally think you'll see plenty more young players of his level coming through that you can get before they break the bank.
 
I love him. :lol: Seriously though, he’s a joy to watch. You know, before the days when every game was on TV, really good players would sell tickets. In fact, my dad started supporting United because he was around 10 years old when George Best joined United, and he started going to games just to see him play. This is the reason I’m a United fan today, since we’re not from Manchester. But yeah, Grealish, in the modern age, is a player you’d pay to see play. He’s just got a class about him, literally the best player in this England team imo.
 
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Man. City been linked with sort of 100m double bid for him and Douglas Luiz (Man. City have sort of 30m buy back clause with him). Pep's previously said he likes Grealish a lot but would cost too much so little has changed.

His price will continue to rise, if he goes to the Euro’s next summer with England and does well then god knows what he will cost.
 
If it does on Grealish’s case then you wouldn’t ask the same price (at the start of the summer) before he signed the new contract.
Yeah, it'd be more. Unless we're in agreement here and I misunderstood you.
Best player on the pitch as usual this season.
Im not even exaggerating when I say that since 2017 he's been the best player on the pitch in at least 90% of games he's played in. He ups his level each time too, you start to wonder if the lad even has a ceiling.
 
You think we could have got him if Villa had been relegated?

Or would we have still cheaped out (which seems more likely)
 
I reckon if Barcelona weren't going through a bad time now that he would be their player.

Reminds me a bit of Iniesta in the way he used to carry the ball.