Aston Villa fans have been left devastated following the news that captain Jack Grealish will complete his move to Manchester City today.
The midfielder, who starred for England throughout their Euro 2020 campaign this summer, is due in Manchester to sign his contract, which will then see him complete a £100million transfer and obliterate the British transfer record.
The deal has been long-coming, after Sportsmail revealed all the way back in March that City were the favourites to pull off the audacious move.
Jack Grealish is set to complete his record-breaking £100m move to Man City TODAY
The Villa captain will meet up with a number of his England team-mates at City, who are still keen on a move for Tottenham striker Harry Kane
Villa have remained reluctant to lose their star man this summer, after Grealish put pen to paper and signed a new contract only last September.
However, the writing was perhaps already on the wall, with Villa already acquiring a ready-made replacement in the £40m signing of Emi Buendia, alongside Leon Bailey, who completed his £30m move from Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, as the Villains look to gatecrash the Premier League top six.
The finishing touches to the deal were put in place after Grealish returned to Villa training at the start of this week, with the 25-year-old holding talks with sporting director Johan Lange about the move.
And last Friday, City officially opened talks with Villa and offered his £100m clause to see the deal through. The midfielder is set to earn in excess of £230,000-per-week upon the completion of the move.
With the news of his imminent departure, Villa fans have taken to Twitter to voice their outrage.
Aston Villa fans have been left devastated with captain Grealish finally set to leave the club
One enraged fan wrote: ‘Bye then Grealish, sold your club out to join a plastic franchise, don’t let the door hit you on the way out (you’d probably fall over).’
‘Ah man…this is going to really hurt,’ another wrote. ‘Cornerstone of our club being given up here… The guy is world class.’
Another Villa fan added: ‘Devastated mate. Thought he might get one more year in with all the signings we’ve made.’
One fan even went as far as to say City are destroying football, saying: ‘Man City are killing football. Financial Fair play out the wind. How can teams compete against a club which has the financial backing of an entire country!!!’
Another wrote: ‘Knew it would happen one day but didn’t expect it when the club is going places.. disappointed in Jack Grealish but we move on to new things.’
There is a thought among some Villa fans that now is the right time for Grealish to move on
Aston Villa enjoyed a fine campaign in the Premier League last season, finishing in 11th place under Dean Smith.
Of course, much of that was down to the efforts of their talisman, who contributed six goals and 10 assists in 26 matches. And Grealish, who played such a pivotal role as Villa were promoted back to England’s top tier in 2019, will finish his City career with 32 goals and 43 assists in 213 appearances.
Though losing their prized asset, Villa, as stated, will now look to push on. They are still in the market for new acquisitions, with the likes of James Ward-Prowse, Tammy Abraham, Todd Cantwell and Axel Tuanzebe all on their radar.
There is just under two weeks until the season starts, however, with Villa kicking off their campaign away to Premier League new boys Watford on Saturday, August 14.
Villa fans tried to urge Grealish to reject Manchester City’s offer at their training camp
There are some fans who think Villa can now move on, and perhaps even progress.
One fan wrote: ‘Leon Bailey 3 years younger than Grealish with undeniable talent and with more G/A in a tough league. Time to move, future is more than bright with the new boy at Villa park.’
Another wrote: ‘Be delighted if Jack stayed but also relieved if he left. Sick of the circus every summer. Also feel we could lose the Grealish FC moniker and go back to being Aston Villa again if he goes. If he stays then great, if he doesn’t me at least I’d be fine.’