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The romantic in me loves the idea of Jack Grealish sealing stunning Aston Villa return
Jack Grealish will reflect on 2024 with mixed emotions, from winning the Premier League title with Manchester City to being left out of the England squad for the Euros.
His club have been boosted by Pep Guardiola's decision to stay at the Etihad until 2027, while they await the arrival of new sporting director Hugo Viana which will follow the impending departure of Txiki Begiristain. Grealish is due to enter the final two years of his contract next summer and questions will start to be asked about what the future holds for the former Villa captain.
The 29-year-old has enjoyed three seasons of success under Guardiola and is chasing more silverware this term having won three Premier League titles, plus the Champions League and FA Cup last year. A few months after joining City from Villa for £100m, Grealish said in an interview with The Telegraph that he would be open to a return to his boyhood club later in his career.
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“It’s a club that is so close to my heart and I definitely hope to go back there,” he said. “That’s always been in my mind. Ashley Young has done it and I want to do the same, 100 per cent.”
But could a return be a genuine possibility in the next couple of years? Here's what our writers make of Grealish's future...
John Townley
He's the best footballer I've seen play for Villa in my 24 years on the planet, so of course I'd welcome Jack back with open arms. However, he will turn 30 next year and given the amount of money it could take to bring him back, signing the playmaker wouldn't quite fit into Villa's transfer policy.
In the world of PSR, Villa are looking to recruit younger players who can develop under Emery so the club has a stock of assets to protect themselves. Although, that doesn't mean Villa aren't always looking to recruit experience. They signed Ross Barkley from Luton Town last summer, but that was because Unai Emery saw a role for him in the team and the cost was minimal.
I'm sure Emery would be able to fit Grealish into his side after showing a different side to his game at City, one which makes him an even more rounded footballer. I believe he has many years left at the top level. Criticism that comes his way for being safe in possession and not showing the confidence he did in claret and blue is harsh because he is simply acting on Guardiola's demands. If Pep didn't like what Grealish was bringing to the table, then why did he play every minute of City's quarter-final clashes against Bayern, the semi-finals with Real Madrid and then the victory in the Champions League final over Inter in 2022/23?
Unfortunately, it's hard to see past the finances involved in a possible transfer. Even though Grealish enters the final two years of his deal next summer, City are still in a strong position to command a big fee, while the player's wages would also be huge.
By the time his contract ends at City, Grealish will be a few months away from his 33rd birthday in September. What's interesting is Villa's progress under Emery, something which has shocked everyone including Grealish no doubt.
He would surely be more inclined to return before his mid-30s if Villa remain competitive towards the top of the table and in Europe too.
Dan Rolinson
The romantic old fool in me loves the idea. I can see the signing announcement in my mind's eye, the floppy hair prince returns and he's wearing adidas now and we're actually good? Sounds pretty sweet.
But I think we've all moved on, that's the club and Grealish by the way, there'll be many Villa fans out there that side with my romanticism.
I'm just not sure how it would work, to be perfectly honest with you. Is Jack Grealish an excellent footballer? Yes. Would he slot in nicely on the left for Villa, or even behind Watkins? Yes. Do Unai Emery and Monchi want him? Who knows, maybe not?
What would it mean for Jacob Ramsey or Morgan Rogers. What would it mean for Jack? Would he even want it? You see how many question marks I'm using...
I can absolutely see a world in which Manchester City think it might be time to cash in on Jack Grealish as his contract comes to an end. Grealish turns 30 in September and whether he even fits the tactically rigid system football at the Etihad anyway is a whole other side to the debate. I think a move to Spurs for >£40m feels about right, a side that will always be around the top six, a side that can give him freedom, and the London lifestyle to boot? I can see that just fine.
Brian Dick
As romantic as the ‘Jack back at the Villa’ narrative is, it’s just that – as likely as the stuff of a Mills & Boon romance novel.
The attacker might feel he needs to move elsewhere given Guardiola will be picking the City team for at least the next 18 months, but that elsewhere shouldn’t include Villa.
Unai Emery’s team have moved on, his players are cogs in, until recently, a smooth-running machine in which is less about the individuals than it is the effectiveness of the whole. Grealish would be a spare part and create a narrative that doesn’t need to be created.
That said it’s very, very difficult to think of him playing for another random Premier League team, Grealish at Fulham or Brentford, just doesn’t feel right and so if he does chose to leave City, or is asked to do so, it is far more easy to envisage him playing abroad.
