Jack Grealish is pictured being driven out of Manchester City's Etihad Campus as he closes in on historic £100MILLION move from Aston Villa which will see him become the most expensive English player EVER
- Jack Grealish is set to seal his high-profile move from Aston Villa to Man City
- The 25-year-old will be England's first £100m player in a record-breaking buy
- Grealish will leaves boyhood club Villa just 11 months after signing a new deal
- The England international is set to earn over £200,000-a-week at City
- Pep Guardiola's league champions are chasing Tottenham striker Harry Kane too Jack Grealish was seen leaving Manchester City headquarters after completing his medical ahead of his record-breaking £100million move from Aston Villa.
The 25-year-old has become one of the most exciting midfielders in English football over the past two seasons and the England international will be confirmed as a City player this week as the most expensive English player of all-time.
Sportsmail revealed on Wednesday that Grealish had started his medical at City's Etihad training ground after the Premier League champions activated a clause in his contract last week.
And Grealish was seen in the back of a large black van outside City's training complex on Thursday with the final formalities of the deal to be completed soon.
Grealish's arrival is a huge statement of intent from City, who are prepared to break that transfer record again before the end of this month to land Harry Kane from Tottenham.
Jack Grealish (back seat of the van) was seen leaving Manchester City headquarters after completing his medical
Grealish moves away from boyhood club Aston Villa despite signing a new deal a year agoGrealish will now get the platform he has craved and many felt he deserved after his cameos for England at Euro 2020. The midfielder was mostly used from the substitutes' bench by Gareth Southgate but was a regular face on the Three Lions' route to the final.
He now joins a superb core of England talent currently in Pep Guardiola's squad, with Phil Foden, Raheem Sterling, John Stones and Kyle Walker all playing at the Etihad Stadium.
Sportsmail revealed in March that City had become favourites to sign Grealish and they have maintained a dogged pursuit. They opened official talks last week and offered the £100m clause figure in full on Friday.
Grealish has only just returned to pre-season training after playing for England at Euro 2020Grealish returned from holiday in Dubrovnik at the start of this week and remained respectful to his boyhood club by resuming training. He spoke with sporting director Johan Lange and discussed taking the next step up in his career with chief executive Christian Purslow and chairman Nassef Sawiris.
Villa had tried hard to convince Grealish to stay. They had offered him a new deal, barely 11 months after he signed his last, and outlined their ambition to challenge the top six.
They underlined that ambition by pulling off a shock £30m swoop for Southampton striker Danny Ings - to take their spending to £60m in just one day.
They confirmed the £30m arrival of Bayer Leverkusen winger Leon Bailey - a move exclusively revealed by Sportsmail last month - earlier in the day.
Villa have also added £40m man Emiliano Buendia to their squad from Norwich earlier this summer, who is very much an attacking in a similar mould to Grealish.
The Midlands' club's supporters also tried to convince their club captain to remain at the club this week whilst he was posing for pictures with Villa fans at their pre-season training camp.
Aston Villa fans tried to urge Grealish to reject Manchester City's offer at their training campThe 25-year-old departs Villa having spent his entire career at his boyhood club, barring a season-long loan spell at Notts County in the 2013-14 season, with the midfielder developing from academy product to club captain.
He made 213 appearances at Villa Park since making his debut in May 2014, scoring 32 goals and registering 43 assists.
Last season was his best campaign to date, producing 12 assists for Smith's Villa and netting six goals, which is particularly impressive given he missed a third of the season due to a shin injury.
Last season was Grealish's best season at Villa scoring six goals and adding 12 assists
The 25-year-old will now link up with Pep Guardiola's (above) Premier League champions
His attention will now turn to helping City defend their Premier League title and could potentially make his debut in Sunday's Community Shield at Wembley with Leicester.
City are also keen to add Tottenham striker Harry Kane to their squad, with the 27-year-old yet to return from pre-season training despite his holiday in the Caribbean coming to an end.
Guardiola's side's offer of £100m was rejected by Spurs, and there is uncertainty over whether the champions can strike a compromise with Daniel Levy.
The Spurs chairman has put a £150m price tag on last season’s top scorer, and the Kane saga is expected to drag on unless Spurs alter their demands.
Grealish joins a strong English core at Man City, including Raheem Sterling (far right)
Grealish is set for City and his England team-mate Harry Kane is also a target for the club
The Spurs talisman was due to return to pre-season training on Monday but has continued his summer holiday with an extra day in Florida.
The 28-year-old still plans to return to Spurs this weekend, but he is likely to need a Covid test at their Enfield base and complete a period of isolation before he can return to training.
He could 'test to release' on day five of his quarantine but even then is likely to be short of fitness for next Sunday's opener against City, the team he is pushing to sign for.
New Spurs head coach Nuno Espirito Santo revealed he is yet to speak to Harry Kane, despite the Portuguese manager being in charge of the north London club for over a month.
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