Aston Villa boss Steve Bruce warns Tottenham time is running out to sign Jack Grealish
Villains chief expects the England Under-21 midfielder to play in their Championship opener at Hull on Monday – leaving Spurs chairman Daniel Levy in a mad dash to sign him
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STEVE BRUCE has warned Tottenham's time is almost up if they really are serious about signing Jack Grealish.
Then revealed he expects his 22-year-old starlet to kick-off the season in a Villa shirt on Monday night at Hull City – leaving Spurs chairman Daniel Levy a mad 65-hour scramble to thrash out a deal for the £30million-rated midfielder.
Bruce insists the Spurs chief hasn’t even reach the starting line – let alone the chequered flag in his attempts to land one of the hottest prospects in the country.
“There’s been discussions which have been going on practically all summer. But I don’t think we’ve had one formal bid,” said Bruce earlier today.
“The one thing the new owners have made clear is that no-one is for sale and we don’t want to lose our best players.
“I expect Jack to play on Monday. We are only two days away from the Hull game and if any deal is done in the next 48 hours I’d be very surprised. Jack is Aston Villa through and through.”
If Grealish does play in Villa’s tough opener at Hull, Spurs run the risk of being one bad tackle or mishap away from watching their top target slip through their fingers.
Bruce says Spurs would be well advised not to enter a game of poker with Villa’s wealthy new owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, who are unlikely to fold when the stakes are raised and the clock ticks down on transfer deadline day.
“They are aware every player has got their price,” said Bruce.
“The good thing the owners have been able to do is make sure nobody goes on the cheap.
“So if somebody wants to come and buy one of our players, they will have to find a premium and make sure the owners are comfortable with it.
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“That’s their prerogative. That’s what they’ve wanted, that’s what we’ve put in place. That’s what we’ve said …… nobody is for sale.
“We’ll do our utmost to keep hold of Jack but we know the situation. From the Championship he’s got a chance of playing in the Champions League - it’s a big pull for the kid, we all know that.
“There is a human element to it but let’s not beat about the bush here, we don’t want to sell. If the offer gets high enough, who knows, we might have to. But we aren’t anywhere close to that yet.”
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