Of course there’s been much debate about if we should sell Jack Grealish or not.
I’m going to stick with my stance that we definitely shouldn’t.
Look, I know we need the money and indeed, he might bring in £30 million or so.
But to be honest, if I put my neutral hat on, I’m not really convinced he’s worth it and I can see where neutrals are coming from.
Jack had a decent semi against Liverpool and then faded back into the background as a useless, lazy so and so, just the same as I’d criticised him for previously.
But it seems that kidney injury really opened his eyes and he stepped it up another couple of gears, in bulking up and working massively hard in the gym.
He’s apparently much nearer the figures Bruce wanted to see, although there’s still room for improvement.
So much so, that he’s now a much more complete player, although he still has a lot to learn.
Remember, he’s still only 22 and there’s plenty of time for him to learn the art of becoming the “playmaker”.
Which I believe he should do at the Villa.
Yes, ok, Delli Ali is crap for England.
But he’s actually quite good for Spurs.
Will Jack be able to jump in and replace him?
I’m not so sure, even if Poch encourages kids.
So will Jack actually get much playing time at Spurs?
Again, I’m not convinced.
Much better for him to stay with us, where Bruce will base the team around him.
He will play every game, as long as he’s fit (as much as Bruce supposedly doesn’t trust young players) and will learn in a tougher league than the Prem.
Hence next year is the year we should look to sell.
If we haven’t been promoted.
All that said, the over-riding biggest reason we shouldn’t sell, is because of the signal it sends to the fans.
We sell Jack Grealish, we’ve lost all ambition.
We keep him and show that the Prem clubs that we are not going to bend us over and we retain some optimism.
It’s as simple as that.
And in the meantime, I saw a report this morning saying Jack’s going nowhere.
Followed about half an hour later, by a report that said that he actually wants to leave.
You have to laugh.
The next point is that Sawaris is Executive chairman, while Edens and Xia are co-chairmen.
That’s an interesting one, as although Sawiris and Edens have put the same money in, it would seem Sawaris is the one willing to spend.
So where does it leave Xia?
I’d suggest it’s an honourable climb-down.
The media says he will be bought out gradually and that does make sense.
I don’t see any conflict here.
Xia has gambled big time and lost.
And now, he’s easing his way out as slow as he can.
Thanks for supporting us while you were here Tony.
