Dean Smith has promised Aston Villa fans the club’s owners will be doing everything in their power over the next few months to keep hold of captain Jack Grealish.
Despite the closure of the January transfer window, it has not stopped the continual flood of speculation regarding a summer move for Grealish, with Manchester United apparently leading the chase.
They will apparently target the club captain in a £70million move this summer as part of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s continued squad rebuild.
While it is almost inevitable the 24-year-old will leave if Villa are relegated, should the club retain their Premier League status, then the onus will be on co-owners Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris to convince the midfielder to stay, and not to have his head turned.
Asked to offer any kind of guarantee to the fans Grealish will remain, boss Smith said: “I’ve said many times we’ve two magnificent owners who want to be successful at this football club, and they’ve an awful lot of money, which they’ve collected from their hard work in their businesses.
“If you want to be a successful team you have to keep your best players, and they will be working very hard to ensure our best players stay at this football club.
“That’s probably the best answer I can give the fans.”