Aston Villa were reportedly willing to pay Jack Grealish more than he has been offered at Manchester City to stay at the club.
City appear to be closing in on a move for Grealish, with a move worth around £100million in motion.
And according to Karveh Solhekol, Villa made it particularly difficult for Grealish to leave, despite not standing in his way of an exit.
The Sky Sports reporter claims the midfielder was ‘absolutely torn’ on whether to leave for City, but has now decided to go ahead with the move.
According to Sky Sports, Villa made it difficult by offering Grealish more than he is set to earn at Manchester City in a bid to convince him to stay.
Jack Grealish has a £100m release clause in his Aston Villa contract. It’s been very difficult for him to leave the club he’s supported all his life and been at for 19 years. He was absolutely torn about whether to stay at Villa or move to Man City
— Kaveh Solhekol (@SkyKaveh) August 5, 2021
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Though, whether the Midlands did indeed offer that much is unlikely.
CaughtOffside understands Grealish will become the Premier League’s third-highest earner at Manchester City on a wage worth £360,000-per-week.
It’s extremely unlikely Villa could have offered that amount to their club captain, regardless of how desperate they were to keep him around.