Tottenham are the clear frontrunners to sign Championship star Jack Grealish but Aston Villa are holding out for £30m, reports The Daily Mail.
Villa are in financial turmoil after missing out on promotion to the Premier League last season and need to raise in excess of £40m this summer in order to comply with Financial Fair Play regulations.
The sale of Grealish will make up the vast majority of that sum but Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is notoriously difficult to negotiate with and will try to drive down his price as much as possible.
Reports emerged last month suggesting Tottenham made an opening offer of £15m, but Villa are determined to command double that fee.
Mauricio Pochettino wants to sign the talented 22-year-old but Tottenham have no intention of matching Villa’s valuation.
It’s expected that a deal somewhere in the region of £20m-25m will be met between the two clubs, although Tottenham could still face competition for his signature.
Grealish put his off-field woes behind him last season and emerged as one of the best players in the Championship, but now he wants to play in the Premier League to break into Gareth Southgate’s England squad.
No player was fouled more times per game than Grealish (3.4) in the Championship last season.
