December 01, (THEWILL) – Jack Grealish has admitted that he was on the verge of joining Manchester United in 2020, a year before moving to the opposite side of town for an English football record transfer of £100 million.
Grealish had an early impact upon Aston Villa’s return to the Premier League in the 2019/2020 campaign, and he was strongly chased by Manchester United, who were looking for more inventiveness in the team.
For some reason, a deal never materialised, and Grealish signed a new contract with Villa, which included a £100 million release clause, that City joyfully triggered at the start of the current season.
“I was really close to going, but nothing happened in the end,” he told The Telegraph recently. “We played United in a preseason game on Saturday and I wasn’t supposed to play in a cup game at Burton.
“But after the United game I said to Christian Purslow [Aston Villa’s chief executive] and my agent ‘if I’m not leaving, I’ll sign my new contract’.
“I went in with my dog on Tuesday morning, signed the deal, and played later that day. We all agreed on the clause and if any team hit that, it’s a win-win because it means I’ve had an unbelievable season and Villa got £100m.”
Never one to conceal his feelings for old club Villa, Grealish declared that, like Ashley Young, he hopes to return one day: “You can’t imagine how hard it was for me to leave. I went for a run in the morning, a load of people took photographs of me and it was all on social [media] that I was staying.
“I came back and had to address all the players and staff. There were about 70 people there. I spoke for about a minute-and-a-half, then I had to stop because I had a lump in my throat and was crying.
“I was a bit surprised by some of the backlash when I left. I’d never want a toxic relationship with anyone there. I owe everything to them and I wouldn’t be at Manchester City without Villa.”
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
