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Collymore’s Comments On Villa Playmaker Are Beside The Point

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Stan Collymore most recent comments on Twitter about Jack Grealish caused a bit of a stir among fans. The former striker said that our no.10 “owes us nothing” and that he wouldn’t begrudge the player moving to a Premier League club to further his career.

It may be true that Jack has no obligation to remain loyal, but at the moment, considering our situation, it is what is best for the club as a whole which should be considered first and foremost.

If we do turn down the reported £15m offer from Tottenham, as I hope we will do, it won’t be because we are trying to hold the midfielder’s career back, but because we believe we need to get value for money for a star talent to ease our financial situation.

You have to remember too, this is not a player who is desperate to leave us. We have given him his chance of first-team football and guided his development as a footballer from a young age.

Grealish has made it clear that he feels a sense of loyalty to the manager too after Bruce visited him regularly in hospital following surgery on his kidney.

Certainly, there is huge financial pressure to sell, but there isn’t that same level of urgency to be sold on the player’s side of things. As Collymore states, Jack would benefit from being coached by a manager like Mauricio Pochettino, but that doesn’t mean his development will stall if we reject this offer from Spurs.

There are a number of interested Premier League clubs that our no.10 could go to, but crucially, they must meet our valuation. I’m not one of those fans who advocates keeping the midfielder at all costs, we have to be realistic in our current situation but it must be the right deal for the club, rather than just for Grealish.

Daniel Levy will have to at least double the offer if he is serious about signing Jack, and they are likely to be other teams far more willing to discuss a deal at a higher price.

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