Aston Villa sold Jack Grealish to Manchester City for £100m in the summer of 2021
Jack Grealish of Manchester City
Jack Grealish of Manchester City(Image: Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
Pundit Alan Smith has questioned whether Unai Emery would take the opportunity to bring Jack Grealish back to Aston Villa.
It is expected that Manchester City will make Grealish available for transfer this summer after he struggled to make an impact under Pep Guardiola this season.
The England international has made only seven Premier League starts and scored just one goal, which came in the 2-0 win over Leicester City at the start of April.
Grealish has two years left on his contract, having spent four seasons at the Etihad following his £100m transfer from Aston Villa in the summer of 2021.
But Sky Sports pundit Smith doesn’t think Villa’s hierarchy would be interested in signing him this summer.
“Villa fans would like to see him back there, given what he meant to them, a local boy and that,” Smith told BestBettingSites.co.uk.
“When he was a big part of that treble season, you thought the only way was up for him, but it’s gone the other way.
“He’s a talented boy. He’s got to make sure he’s professional off the pitch – you hear all sorts of stories about his lifestyle, a bit of a party boy, and maybe that puts some managers off.
“But he wants to do well in the game, there’s no doubt about that. If he is available, he’ll get a club somewhere, if he’s willing to come to an agreement.
“I don’t know about Newcastle – they’ve got Anthony Gordon, Harvey Barnes, haven’t they, on that left-hand side?
“Whether Unai Emery would want him back at Villa, I’m not sure. It might be another club.”
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