Aston Villa are resigned to losing Jack Grealish, but won’t sell him cheaply reports the Daily Mirror.
Speculation over the 22-year-old’s future intensified after the 1 – 0 defeat to Fulham in this season’s Championship Play-Off final at Wembley.
Now Leicester City are keen to take the short hop from the West to East Midlands in light of Manchester City rekindling their interest in Riyad Mahrez.
However, the Foxes have been told that Grealish will cost £40m as Villa struggle to alleviate their problems with the EFL financial fair play regulations.
After two seasons of heavy spending and a spiralling wage bill, the club’s owner Dr Tony Xia needs to bring in profits from player sales and cut costs to ensure the fallen Premier League giants don’t exceed the permitted losses of £39m during a three-year period.
Next year brings that cycle to an end and Villa have been living well beyond their means in an attempt to gain promotion.
Grealish is understood to be among the club’s top earners and also one of their few high-value assets. Others to be sold include Ross McCormack, the 31-year-old striker who fell foul of Bruce when he missed training after being trapped in his house by broken electronic gates.
To make matters worse, there are claims Steve Bruce is considering his position after missing promotion, as well as for personal reasons. The Geordie recently lost both parents and is taking the summer to consider his future.
