After Aston Villa’s failure to secure promotion back to the Premier League this season, reports claim that Man Utd could look to swoop for one of their top stars.
Steve Bruce’s men fell agonisingly short this time round after suffering defeat in the Playoff final against Fulham at Wembley on Saturday.
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That means they’ll spend a third year in the second tier of English football, and it could raise question marks over their ability to fend off Premier League interest in their top players.
According to The Sun, that’s exactly the problem they could face with Man Utd being linked with an interest in midfielder Jack Grealish.
The 22-year-old has continued to go from strength to strength over the last two years as he has matured well and grown into an important role for Villa.
With three goals and eight assists in 34 appearances this past season, Bruce will undoubtedly be keen to keep him at Villa Park for another year at least to help lead their bid for promotion. However, as per the Sun, United could make it difficult for that to happen if they step up their pursuit.
Jose Mourinho will potentially have a void to fill this summer as along with Michael Carrick retiring, doubts remains over the future of Marouane Fellaini, as per Sky Sports, as he has yet to sign a contract renewal with his current deal set to expire this summer.
Should he also depart, that would arguably leave the Red Devils too light in midfield, and so it remains to be seen if the creativity and technical quality of Grealish is something that he sees his side benefiting from.