Manager feels sympathy for failed transfer target

Steve Bruce has revealed that he feels sympathy for Jack Grealish after his transfer collapsed.

The 22-year-old midfielder had been linked with a move to Tottenham Hotspur throughout the course of the summer, but both clubs were unable to reach an agreement.

Depending on which report you read, Spurs offered anything from £3million plus Josh Onomah to a fixed fee of £25million.

The player himself was said to be keen on a switch to Mauricio Pochettino’s side in order to fulfil an ambition of playing Champions League football, but instead finds himself playing in the Championship until at least the end of December.

“It is great for myself,” Bruce told Sky Sports.

“I can understand the disappointment from Jack, in some ways, but he has been terrific and respectable towards the club.

“Let’s be fair, Spurs are a huge club in England and in Europe but he has taken the decision from the owner and hopefully we can move forward.

“He [Grealish] will hopefully take us to where we want to get to and fulfil his ambitions with ourselves.

“I think what is vitally important to everybody is that the owner has put out a statement of intent.

“There was no figure for Jack [Grealish] and he made that pretty clear that whatever Spurs offered, he was not going to listen to it.

“Not everybody believed it but they can start believing now. He didn’t want to lose his star player. He wants to try and build the team around Jack and we have to respect that.”