Manchester City

Manchester City

Premier League • England

Premier League giants to take £40m hit as AC Milan line up staggering swoop for England man

Jack Grealish and Harry Maguire

Manchester City could lose around £40million on record signing Jack Grealish after a report detailed AC Milan’s interest in snapping him up.

Grealish left boyhood club Aston Villa in August last year when City paid a stunning £100m to sign him. The transfer made Grealish the most expensive British player of all time, while also eclipsing the £68.4m City spent on midfielder Kevin de Bruyne.

Grealish had only penned a new contract at Villa Park in September 2020. However, it included a secret clause which meant Villa would have to sell the left winger if a Champions League side made a £100m bid for him.

Grealish has gone on to make 55 appearances for the Citizens, registering just seven goals and four assists. It has taken him some time to get used to Pep Guardiola’s style of play, while he has also been affected by the intense competition for places in attack.

However, the England international has looked slightly more influential for City this season. And their fans will be hoping he can increase his goals and assists once the domestic campaign gets back underway.

Grealish is currently on international duty at the World Cup. He has come off the bench in all four of England’s matches so far and bagged the final goal in their 6-2 thrashing of Iran on November 21.

The 27-year-old will be hoping to pick up some game time when Gareth Southgate’s men come up against France in the quarter-finals on Saturday.

While Grealish is currently focusing on the World Cup, rumours are beginning to swirl about his future at the Etihad.

Jack Grealish tipped to leave Man City

Reports have claimed he could be sold by City to help them fund the signing of his England team-mate Jude Bellingham.

Italian outlet CalcioMercatoWeb now provide a big update on the situation. They claim Milan are plotting a huge swoop to take Grealish to Italy.

Guardiola ‘is not satisfied’ with the winger and is apparently pushing City officials to offload him next summer.

City will struggle to sell Grealish for anywhere near the £100m they paid for him in 2021. Instead, they will have to take around a £40m hit by selling him for €70m (£60.3m).

The report claims several of City’s Premier League rivals are keeping tabs on the situation. This includes Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal.

Star could be Rafael Leao successor at Milan

But Milan are also involved in proceedings. And with Rafael Leao set to depart the club, Grealish could arrive at the Serie A giants as his replacement.

This isn’t the first time the Rossoneri have been linked with Grealish. Scout Danilo Pagni has previously spoken about his desire to land the Birmingham-born player for Milan.

“I wanted Grealish who was at Aston Villa and [Mason] Mount at Vitesse – now internationals and protagonists with England – at Milan,” Pagni revealed.

“Scouting is this: understanding values ​​when they are unexpressed, not valued, in fact.”

It is hard to see Grealish leaving City for Milan. After all, City will want to get the most out of the attacker after spending £100m on him.

They will probably give him another full season in Manchester before deciding whether to keep him or sanction a sale.

Another factor to consider is whether Grealish would leave the Prem. He has only ever played in England before and has never signalled a desire to star in Italy. Therefore, any Milan bids for Grealish are likely to be turned down, both by City and the player himself.

Meanwhile, City defender Kyle Walker has spoken about upcoming opponent Kylian Mbappe and how he will deal with him.