- 17 Dec 2024
Grealish didn’t want Man Utd move, says Aston Villa boss Smith
Robin Bairner
- Updated: 19 May 2021 17:24 BST
- 2 min read
Aston Villa manager Dean Smith has revealed that Jack Grealish had no desire to join Manchester United last summer.
The England international midfielder was linked with the Old Trafford club regularly during the off-season, but ultimately no deal was completed.
Grealish, Smith claims, had no interest in the move.
“He wanted to progress and wanted progress as a footballer first and foremost at Villa. It’s his team, he grew up as an Aston Villa fan, he’s been here a long time and I’ve always had that feeling that he didn’t want to leave. He wanted to continue the journey of being progressive with the football club,” he told Stadium Astro.
Smith’s Grealish warning
Smith, however, is aware that his star man may not continue with the club if they fail to grow with him.
Grealish, who has also been linked with Manchester City, continues to be one of the hottest properties in the Premier League, with the 25-year-old enhancing his reputation this season with five goals and six assists in nine league outings.
“If we don’t keep progressing and become a club that’s challenging in Europe then we probably won’t meet Jack’s ambitions and there will be a time where Grealish looks elsewhere then,” the manager said. “At the moment, he can see the progression at the football club and he wants to be a part of that.”
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Villa enjoyed a strong start to the season as they picked up four victories in their first five matches of the season but have subsequently tailed off badly.
They are presently on a run of four defeats from five matches and have sunk to 12th in the standings, albeit with a couple of games in hand over many of their nearly rivals.
On Saturday, they will face Wolves and will be propelled – temporarily, at least – into seven with a victory.
