Jack Grealish is enjoying a strong season for Aston Villa in which he has created more chances per game than any player in the Premier League.

As we wrote this week, deciding against signing Grealish amid Aston Villa’s high asking price of £80 million, looks like a big misjudgement, considering United have no player who Solskjaer trusts to fill in for Marcus Rashford or Bruno Fernandes on a regular basis.

For Grealish himself, the talk over a move to United which didn’t happen still gets brought up.

FBL-ENG-PR-MAN UTD-ASTON VILLA
(Photo by LINDSEY PARNABY/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Grealish was asked point blank why he didn’t sign for United, in a video with YouTuber Harry Pinero, who is a United supporter.

The Aston Villa star laughed, and responded, “You’ve got Bruno anyway.”

Grealish is clearly appreciative of Fernandes, as when told, ”you’ve got the filthiest first touch in the Prem’, he responded: “That’s not true. I do some alright touches but you need to put a bit of respect on Bruno and KdB.”

Are United’s hopes over?

Grealish signed a new contract last summer after it became clear there was no move happening.

A lot of the speculation about him leaving his boyhood club came about because it appeared likely Villa would be relegated.

 

Grealish helped them narrowly avoid relegation, while there was also an assist from a VAR oversight against Sheffield United, and they stayed up.

There was suddenly no need for Villa to cash in, and Grealish was never going to force the issue.

Villa are having a strong season this campaign and sit comfortably in the top half. With Grealish under contract now until 2025, there is no reason for them to cash in at present.

Grealish certainly would offer United a better rotational option than the club currently have for Fernandes and Rashford. But the question remains as to whether he would get into the club’s first choice XI.

That was one of the reasons United were reluctant to pay up for him last summer, with a high fee demanded at a time when finances were tight from the impact of the pandemic.

(Photo by Alex Livesey – Danehouse/Getty Images)

The situation remains the same this summer. Grealish is a player United need, and would love to have, but the numbers don’t add up. It’s hard to see it happening at this point, unless he gets an uncontrollable itch for Champions League football and grows agitated for a move. Perhaps in a couple of years.

Grealish’s comment, ‘You’ve got Bruno anyway’, suggests he is acutely aware he might not be first choice if he signed for United in any case.

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