In an interview with the Telegraph, Steve Bruce has claimed that he prevented Aston Villa from selling Jack Grealish to Tottenham for just £10 million.
Grealish was a highly sought-after property during his time at Villa, during which time he combined 32 goals with 43 assists in 213 appearances (Transfermarkt).
Before completing his record-breaking £100 million move to Manchester City in 2021 (ESPN), the attacker had attracted interest from both Manchester United and Spurs (Daily Mail).
Speaking to the Telegraph in 2018 after Spurs failed with a bid of around £25 million, Grealish admitted his disappointment at the club’s inability to agree on a fee and felt that by plying his trade in N17 he would have forced his way into Gareth Southgate’s plans.
Bruce, who managed Grealish for 66 games during their time together in the West Midlands, has now suggested that he stood in the way of the player joining Spurs for a fee as low as £10 million (Telegraph).
The 61-year-old discussed the struggles of his closing years at Villa Park. He said (Telegraph): “We didn’t play at all well.
“Kevin Friend, who is retiring this summer, saw Ryan Fredericks stamp on Jack Grealish after 20 minutes and it should have had a red card. We would have won and it was a huge disappointment. Then, again, there was another takeover, which the club badly needed.
“But the biggest thing I did that summer was fight tooth and nail to keep Grealish because they wanted to sell him and Spurs were there with £10 million. They got £100m for him last summer! Great new owners there, even though they sacked me.”
Spurs Web Opinion
This transfer still hurts me. The rumours of Daniel Levy offering £3 million plus Josh Onomah to secure Grealish’s services will go down in Spurs folklore.
Although I don’t think he is worth the £100 million that City paid for him, having a player of Grealish’s ability alongside Heung-Min Son, Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli, and Harry Kane would have been a game-changer for Spurs during Mauricio Pochettino’s reign.
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