Jack Grealish: Five potential destinations for the Aston Villa star

With the club in financial turmoil and needing to sell off their prized assets, Grealish is undoubtedly the player most likely to help solve their problems behind the scenes, something echoed by Steve Bruce this week.

But where are the potential destinations for the attacking midfielder, we've highlighted five destinations where he could end up.

Spurs

By far the favourite amongst the bookmakers, and for good reason.

Spurs, so far, are the only team to reportedly register heavy interest in Villa's star man, although their current hard-ball stance over the transfer fee will not be winning them any friends at B6.

£15m is something of a derisory valuation of a man who was so key to Steve Bruce's side last season - but it's a sign of the times at Villa, who Daniel Levy knows are scratching for cash.

If Spurs do up their offer and Grealish does head to the capital, there are few better managers of emerging talent than Mauricio Pochettino, who has a hand in the development of Dele Alli, Harry Kane and Harry Winks to name a few.

The only question worth asking is whether Super Jack would get enough time on the pitch to continue to grow.

If they stump up the cash, everything else seems right for a deal to happen.

Verdict: Probably the right move for all, as long as the fee is fair.

Chelsea

Many Villa fans have a good reason to want this deal to happen - basically because Chelsea are always linked with large transfer fees.

Add to this the previous reports of the Blues also willing to loan the youngster back to Villa Park and suddenly things seem much rosier - but there's a hitch.

Whilst Chelsea have paid large sums in the past, the players themselves haven't always benefited when it comes to their football development.

You need only look at the likes of Ross Barkley, Danny Drinkwater, Romelu Lukaku, Mo Salah and Kevin De Bruyne to realise that not all new signings are given a fair crack of the whip at Stamford Bridge.

Of course, there's no guarantee it would be the same for Villa's prize asset - but that's a big risk. Add the mystery of the managerial situation at the club too and the water gets even murkier.

Verdict: A risky move for Jack, and maybe a pipe dream for fans.

Leicester

Much less likely to happen now that the Foxes have brought fellow Championship star James Maddison to the King Power Stadium - but there's still a chance.

Grealish is known to be good friends with plenty of the Leicester players who he knows from his time in the England youth ranks - Ben Chilwell and Demarai Gray both spring to mind.

On top of that, Leicester should have the capital to make a deal work, Riyhad Mahrez completed his protracted mega-money move to Manchester City earlier this week, pocketing them £60m.

The problem, as stated earlier, is the arrival of Maddison, who plays a similar role to Grealish.

Can Leicester take the risk of signing both? Could they play together? It seems unlikely.

Verdict: Not likely given The Foxes' recent business, but not completely unrealistic.

Wolves

This would undoubtedly cause mass uproar among Villa fans, and potentially tarnish the reputation of Grealish among the supporters who adore him at B6.

Being a Villa fan, you can imagine even Grealish himself could be averse to making the switch to a local rival, and one that has become much more venomous in recent years.

But there are some points which could well make this deal a bit more feasible - the main one being the club's close proximity.

Add to this the cash the club seemingly have at hand, and the attractive brand of football at Molineux and there's a case to be made for Wolverhampton being a plausible destination.

Villa supporters have already had to witness Sam Johnstone join a rival. But if the same happens with Grealish it would be a real low-blow

Verdict: It would be a bitter blow. Incredibly unlikely.

Aston Villa

Whilst Steve Bruce has admitted that his big names (Grealish being the biggest) simply have to go. If no reasonable offer arrives, could it make some sense to keep him?

This all depends hugely on whether Bruce can recoup the cash from other player sales and wage cuts, although in reality it would be a miraculous set of deals to do this.

Fans would have to say goodbye to some of their other players in Jonathan Kodjia, James Chester, Scott Hogan and Albert Adomah to name a few, and then somehow find a way to get Micah Richards and Ross McCormack off the books (preferably permanently and with any kind of fee).

If Villa get cash for those players and the numbers add up, there could be a slim chance Grealish could be kept on, but it's the slimmest of the slim.

The other option is to hold onto Grealish and sell up in the winter window and hope he fetches more of a fee after another spell of good form - but then there are no guarantees that will be the case.

Verdict: It would be a miracle. But fans can dream...