Spurs on alert after manager reveals star must be sold

Aston Villa boss Steve Bruce has admitted that Tottenham Hotspur transfer target Jack Grealish is set to leave the club this summer.

Tottenham have been linked with a move for the 22-year-old midfielder since Villa failed to regain promotion to the Premier League coupled with their well-publicised financial problems means that the Championship club must part with their most prized asset.

Villa have been forced to take out several emergency loans to pay wages and tax bills. The wage bill needs to be reduced significantly while player sales are key.

Grealish could be available for around £20million but in typical Daniel Levy fashion, it said to be refusing to go above the £15million mark.

“The first thing we have to address, before we go into anything, is Financial Fair Play,” Bruce told Sky Sports. “That has to be addressed whether the owner has got any money or not. We have to try and put that in place as quickly as we can.

“The owner has put out a statement. I had a conversation with him four or five days ago where I issued my commitment to the club and to him to say, ‘Look, we’re up against it, let’s be open and honest’.

“We might have to take decisions which aren’t going to be easy. We will have to generate some money and inevitably that’s going to be through player sales.

“And it’s going to be people who I don’t want to sell. The obvious one is Jack. People will know we’ve got financial problems and they’ll sit and wait until deadline day possibly, I hope that doesn’t happen but we’ve got to wait for it.”

“It’s pretty brutal stuff out there,” Bruce continued. “There’s nobody going to feel sorry for Aston Villa because financially we’ve got ourselves into a bit of a pickle. Yes, we’ve got to be ready for that.

“I’ve enjoyed working with Jack. Jack is the obvious one that clubs are going to look at because he had a wonderful six months.

“He reminded everyone what a very good player he is at 22-years-old. On another day at Wembley he could have scored one of the great goals.

“He’s a special talent. Yes, you don’t want to lose him but the inevitable thing is, we have to.

“We have to to keep the club up and running and keep it in line with Financial Fair Play.”

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