Red Devil wrote:at that price I would have thought Grealish and Maddison were good options who are already used to the premier league
Both transfers would have been implausible this January. Leicester are having a brilliant season and wouldnt want to sell one of their top players, so United would have had to pay astronomical amounts to force their hand on a player whos got a long contract with them, and who might attract bids from other top clubs in the summer. And Grealish has a clause in his contract that lets him leave for 35 million in the summer (or 40-45 depending on where its reported). While United may have forced Villa's hand by offering 50 million now, its unlikely Villa would sell their best player when relegation is a real possibility and costs them 100 million plus in lost revenue; and the player would want a cheaper transfer fee, as that tends to boost wage negotiations. So both were unlikely to come without massive over paying.
I rate both very highly. Different players, I think Grealish is more use to United further back as a nice ball playing midfielder who can also get stuck in and work hard, but Maddison I think has a real level of quality in the 10 position. I can see United lashing down 150 million for both in the summer, and I think that would be good business assuming Grealish can stay fit. He's had injuries sadly, which I think is half the reason he's still at Villa. It was embarrassing for the league last year how much better he was than those others in the Championship.
But as yuppie and me said a while back, there are questions about Grealish's attitude. Maybe unfairly as he has worked his socks off for Villa in recent times, but there has been murmurs off the field that he is difficult to work with. Not sure if its true. To me he seems a terrific professional.
For anyone who wants to see what playing for a club means to someone, its Grealish at Villa. Watching him get smacked round the head by a fan, get on with the job and beat Birmingham with the winner last year was something really memorable, even if I werent a Villa fan. It has highly impressive.
Love to see him get an England cap.