Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce has revealed Jack Grealish would be a Tottenham player right now had the Londoners made an offer earlier in the transfer window.
Grealish emerged as Spurs’ priority transfer target over the summer. The Premier League club expected to sign him on the cheap when Villa were in financial peril.
New owners suddenly came in and saved Villa from their money troubles. Their investment also meant Tottenham were no longer able to buy Grealish for a reduced fee.
Spurs made an offer late in the window, but Villa rejected it outright and told Daniel Levy that Grealish was no longer for sale at any price.
In the end, Tottenham failed to make a single signing over the summer after putting all of their eggs in one basket with Grealish.
And now, Bruce has claimed Spurs would have signed the 22-year-old had they made their move before the new owners came in.
“If Tottenham had done their work early he would be a Spurs player now.”#AVFC boss Steve Bruce says @JackGrealish1 would have joined #THFC if they made a move before the takeover at Villa Park! ⏱️
? Listen ↓ pic.twitter.com/2uPzEi6XEy
— The Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast (@SportsBreakfast) August 17, 2018
“If Tottenham had done their work early he would be a Spurs player now,” Bruce told talkSPORT.
It’s safe to say Tottenham fans weren’t happy to hear Bruce’s latest comments. Many voiced their discontent on social media – read the best Twitter responses below.
That’s the problem. Levy takes too long to sort out a deal which just pisses off the other team.
— Spurs_chats (@ChatsSpurs) August 17, 2018
We all know that as spurs fans. The problem is our chairman Mr Last minute. We need someone solely in charge of transfers on the board. I think he has single handily upset every other chairman in the world.
— Sean Hogan (@SeanHogan2) August 17, 2018
Rather obvious this! Levy wanted to get him on the cheap and probably would’ve but the unexpected takeover killed that off. Hopefully for the player’s sake, he hasn’t missed out indefinitely on the spurs move.
— MatthewN17 (@N17Matthew) August 17, 2018
MatthewN17 ‘hopefully for the players sake’ ??? Thinking a little too highly of your club there, Villa Park isn’t a prison, player power can force moves through these days, speaks volumes that Jack didn’t! And while you have Daniel ‘Wenger’ Levy dealing with transfers Jack won’t be the only talented player you miss out on
dunno really… spurs is at the business end of the prem with regular champions league football, whilst villa are a second tear team with no guarantees of promotion & even if they did would probably struggle to remain in the top flight net alone make top 6… I think for jack’s sake was referring to him playing in an attacking side with better players rather than single headedly trying to keep a second rate team going.
Do any of you idiots actually believe that Jack Grealish could have walked into the current Spurs team and if so, who’s position would he have taken? He’d be a bench warmer. Secondly, none of us are the Chairman of THFC, we aren’t privy to what goes on in that boardroom, we are not part of the decision making process and have no say what so ever. If you don’t like what is going on fair enough but to blame Levy for everything is stupid. If he, the manager and the board don’t think a players is worth going overboard for, so be it, move on. The club is not going to spend stupid money for one individual player, it won’t happen. Spurs aren’t owned by a Russian mobster, oil rich Arabs or American chancers. If you’re so discontented with the way the club is run, get the money together and try buying ENIC out or fuck off and support a club who throws money around like confetti. There are a lot worse Chairmen in the league than Levy, just ask the Geordies and the Spammers to name but two. If Spurs again finish above Liverpool and Fulham this season bearing in mind the money they both spent this Summer and in the process make it to the CL again also finally lift some silverware, would you blame Levy or praise him? Get a grip.
I believe Pochettino’s explanation of why Spurs didn’t sign a player in the last domestic transfer window. There were no eggs in any baskets. Spurs no more ‘failed’ to sign a player than another club ‘failed’ to sell one. It was various media yet again ‘linking’ Spurs with dozens of players, based on nothing of substance, that was furious with Spurs for showing them to be hot air merchants and ‘not remotely in the know’.
I’m with you Ray all the Levy bashing is boring and predictable most people who make those comments don’t know how a football club is run or are just ignoring the facts.The type of player that would actually improve our squad are either tied up in long contracts or hugely over priced.Grealish is not worth over £30m and if he was such a great player he wouldn’t be playing for Villa and would have been snapped up by a big PL or European club which he hasn’t.We have a strong squad and there is no point buying rubbish for the sake of it we did that with Bale’s money and look where that got us.I’m sick of moaning Spurs fans who forget we are moving into a world class stadium or had that conveniently slipped the mind either support your club or jog on to the brummies.
I think grealish would’ve & can still add some creativity to the spurs MF, Eriksen does have the occasional dip in form & that is where grealish would come in.
as for not signing him, I strongly believe the new Egyptian owners of villa wanted to make a statement of intent & were not willing to let him go for anything other than a totally ridiculous price. therefor I can understand grealish’s frustration as it was clear that he’d been told he was going to be sold off so villa could pay the bills & this reversal has probably done more harm than good to the player… he had a chance of big time champions league football, he might not get a second chance & that’s all down to villa’s new owners & bruce blocking the lad’s progress … remember Berahino?? WELL DONE.
TO be honest, i wouldnt swap Levy for any other chairman in football, he isnt intimidated by agents or other clubs so called chairman & i think only has Tottenhams interest at heart, like he has always said ” he is only the current custodian of the club until the next person comes along” unlike the Chelsea’s, man u’s, man city’s of this world, hes not a Cheque book chairman. And to like some one else said earlier, Grealish is championship at best at this current time, a premier league bench warmer.
We are every agents dream, we should get a cut of the pay rises that players get on the agents BS stories of Spurs interest. The media just lap it up and at the end of the day it ends up as just click bait.