Grealish transfer is as much City’s owners’ move as Pep’s

Aston Villa have some of the best owners in world sport. Their track record speaks for itself.

Now, they’ve set their sights on putting Aston Villa back at the top of English football and they’re making rapid progress.

It could so easily have been faster. After the first third of last season, Villa were in with a real shout of European qualification, but inconsistency, a comparative lack of squad depth as compared to the established top six, and the injury to Jack Grealish combined to send them back down the table.

With the signings they’re making this summer, around Jack Grealish, Aston Villa would be a very real threat to those established top six, including City. And they’d keep getting stronger.

Taking Grealish away from Villa not only adds one of the very best players in the Premier League – and Europe – to City’s already overstocked ranks, but takes away the crown jewel of Aston Villa’s resurgence and their owners’ project.

(Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

That’s not to say Villa won’t still be a class act this season, but any side in the world would feel an impact by taking Grealish out of it (just ask England fans who watched the Euros, but don’t ask Gareth Southgate, because he was too stubborn and incompetent to pick him).

It’s a masterstroke by City, trying to stop Wes Eden and Nassef Sawiris’ masterplan (if indeed that’s what they’re doing), or at least significantly slow it down, by poaching their best player.

Villa showed what they were capable of with Grealish last season, demolishing Liverpool and beating the Champions League winners, among many other excellent performances, and with Emi Buendia, Leon Bailey, Ashley Young and now Danny Ings, they’re taking it on even more strongly again.

Jack Grealish is jumping ship just at the time that ship was set to start really challenging the other ships in front of it.

One of the world’s best goalkeepers, one of the Premier League’s best defences, a powerful midfield, some fantastic wide players and two of the best strikers in England.

He’s going for trophies, trophies which he could realistically have a chance of winning with his own club.

Is it impatience?

Wanting to play with Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden and co?

Champions League football?

Or playing for Guardiola, a manager who has had his entire managerial career on a silver platter with wonderful squads and gazillions to spend?

Any half-decent manager with any footballing nous could win trophies with what he’s had at his disposal. He should have won more but has made awful tactical decisions time and time again, especially in the Champions League.

Whatever Jack’s reasons, they won’t be nearly enough to prevent his legacy at Villa being hugely tarnished. He’s leaving with the job half-finished, and he’s joining a club his own club are going hell for leather to try to compete with.

People talk about Jack’s loyalty to Aston Villa up to now but if he’s as much of a Villa fan as he says he is, that loyalty should never at any stage have been in any question whatsoever.

And the loyalty has been both ways.

The club has stood by him all the way through his career, despite his numerous misdemeanours (partying, car accidents and poor attitude in the past).

He has the chance to have more of an impact on his own club’s success than practically any other Villa fan in history, to become a true club legend by taking his club to the top.

He isn’t one yet and now he won’t ever be; no legend has ever gained their status leaving with a job half-done, or by walking out on their own club to take the quick and easy route to glory.

Was it too much for him to stay one more year to see if Villa could crack the top four, so he could get what he wanted with his own club? Clearly, it was.

That’s what stings Villa fans as much as anything.

Most would have understood and accepted it if Villa didn’t make the Champions League this coming season and he chose to go next year.

But going now? It doesn’t display any kind of fan loyalty from him at all.

I hope Daniel Levy tells City where to go.

Football doesn’t need Harry Kane going there as well.