Jack Grealish could leave Aston Villa for pastures anew in the summer, especially after Tottenham Hotspur lodged a £15m bid for him.
It remains to be seen if that offer is enough for Villa, but Spurs chairman Daniel Levy is known to be a hard negotiator. Moreover, the Villains presently find themselves in a financial turmoil, following their failure to earn promotion to the Premier League; they lost to Fulham in the Championship playoff final. Villa need to find £11m this month for outstanding player payments, and selling Grealish could help the club’s cause.
If Grealish, who is also on the radar of Chelsea, Fulham and Leicester City, does indeed leave Villa, the Claret and Blue will lack creativity in the middle of the park, with the young midfielder scoring three and providing eight assists in 34 appearances in all competitions last season.
Here are two players Aston Villa should go for if Grealish leaves the club.
Marcus Maddison
The talented attacking midfielder set League One alight with his splendid performances for Peterborough last season.
Several clubs are interested in signing him in the summer, and Villa should act quickly if they want to get him. He scored 12 goals and set up 23 more in 53 games in all competitions for the Posh in the 2017/18 campaign.
Maddison would be the perfect replacement for Grealish and Villa should look to sign him at the earliest, with the likes of Nottingham Forest and Reading already showing interest in him. But it remains to be seen how well the 24-year-old would fare in the Championship.
Luke Freeman
Freeman is slightly less of a gamble than Maddison as he is already a proven performer in the Championship. The 26-year-old managed 5 goals and provided 12 assists in 45 Championship appearances for Queens Park Rangers last season.
Most of his goals and assists came from central midfield or attacking midfield positions – the exact areas Aston Villa would need to strengthen should Grealish leave.
Freeman joined QPR from Bristol City in January 2017 and has managed to establish himself as a key player for the Loftus Road outfit. He possesses all the qualities to be a star for the Villains.
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