Some years ago Spurs could have had him for £25mil.
Mastermind Levy
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Yep Spurs dropped a bollock with that one. They were on the verge of nabbing him before it fell through. Glad though.
It’s a lot of money but if we’re going to buy White for around 50m then someone like Grealish, who is a match winner, must be worth almost 100m.
Also, if Man City or Chelsea are interested in a player, it automatically puts the price up.
There aren’t many players worth that, but Grealish is an elite player that could walk into most teams in Europe.
I’d I’d rather spend 100m on Grealish than the same amount on Pepe and Xhaka.
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I don’t agree that Grealish is an elite player. I don’t consider anybody who has never played much international football and not a second of major European football elite.
His performances once he moves to a big club will determine his true standing in the game. Until then he’s just another great talent at a mid table club.
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This is a pretty bad example of what £100m can get you, it works out at about £60m for Pepe in terms of value spent. You could easily say I’d rather spend £100m on Mane, Salah and Wijnaldum.
I also don’t agree that when City are interested if raises the price, I feel like most people just walk away when they enter the fray because it’s practically impossible to compete with their insane wealth. Villa’s best and only chance of getting £100 million for Grealish lies with City, maybe someone like Chelsea or PSG but they don’t seem interested. Villa would be smart imo to close this deal.
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He’s elite because someone else bought him 
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If Villa and Spurs can walk away with £200m+ for Grealish and Kane then both clubs have gotten away with day light robbery.
I like Grealish, he’s a good player but I don’t see £100m worth of talent and Kane’s body is always looking like it’s ready to go at any time.
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Don’t quite get that tbh.
If you’re establishing yourself as one of the best players in the PL then you can be said to be elite, international football shouldn’t quite be used as a gauge of someone’s level, I mean most games are played against lesser opposition and you play infrequently.
Performing in a strong league week in week out counts for a lot IMO, sure when he goes to a top team it’ll be questioned whether he lived up to expectations but atm he looks every bit an elite player at a lesser club.
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Playing for a mid table team is not the same as playing for a top club. There’s a totally different level of expectation, level of performance required and a different type of discipline.
How good Grealish truly is will be determined by how well he does at taking the opportunity that’s been presented to him by City.
I’m not going to call a soon to be 26 year old with single digital international caps, no European football experience and a CV like his elite just because he’s done a good job at a club that’s played in the Championship and mid table / relegation level in the PL.
The mentality element of football is huge. It’s what separates good from great.
Expectation sure but he’s still playing well agains the top teams though? That sounds like snobbery tbh. Level of performance? Like he hasn’t played out of his mind last season?
When I watch him play in spite of no CL football or many international caps I see an elite player, fair enough if you don’t agree but IMO you’re attributing arbitrary conditions.
I think you’re selling him short by saying he’s done “a good job” too. He’s been one of the very best creators in back to back seasons and plays well whether it’s aginst the lesser teams or the bigger clubs. If what you say is true then surely it’s more difficult to do what he’s doing at Villa and he should get props for that?
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I think it’s the other way round.
If Grealish is playing great football and is clearly a match winning player at a mid table club, then surely playing alongside similar quality players is only going to make him a better player.
I don’t think it’s arbitrary conditions. Top players play at the top level. Grealish has never played in elite competition in his career and he’ll be 26 by the time the next season starts.
I’ve never not been impressed by him but I don’t call players elite until I see what they’re capable of producing at an elite level.
Grealish may genuinely be elite but his ability to imprint his impersonality on a game will be very different under Pep who has a totally different expectation of his players to what Dean Smith does.
Playing for Aston Villa knowing you’re the big dog is not the same as playing Champions League football and in title deciding games for Manchester City where your performance level is scrutinised totally differently.
As I said, I’m a fan of Grealish but I’m not going to call someone who’s never played at the top top of the game elite.
The PL by definition is an elte competition bro 
I don’t think any league is ‘elite’, other than the Champion’s League.
3 of his last 5 seasons were spent in the Championship, his first PL season back was spent battling relegation and his last season was a solid mid table finish with Villa.
Playing for Aston Villa, even in the PL, is not an elite place in the sport. Playing for one of the traditional big clubs is, playing for them in europe is. Playing for Villa is not.
What’s he done in the past two seasons though?
You can’t discount anything he’s done in the past two seasons IMO, like I said it comes off as snobbery. He has balled out against most if not all top clubs in the league.
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It’s not snobbery to suggest Grealish isn’t an elite player yet. But if he moved to City, he has the opportunity to become one.
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It’s not snobbery to believe that a player has to prove he can hack it at a big club before considering him an elite player
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No it’s not snobbery to suggest that in and of itself what I was getting at is that if you’re discounting his performances because he is at a lessr team then it kind of is.
He’s performed well across all opposition last season, just because he wasn’t doing it at a top club takes veyr little away from that.
I’m not discounting his performances I’ve outlined that he impresses me but I’m stating that playing at a big club is a whole different animal and that’s where he truly had a chance to establish himself