Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is said determined to pay the £70 million price tag to acquire Jack Grealish from Aston Villa, and the plan has the support of Arsenal legend Paul Merson. The Villa captain is tipped to prove his worth for the Red Devil if the transfer is completed and according to Merson, Grealish will be a "massive asset."
While Aston Villa is under threat of relegation anew, Grealish powered the club to Premier League this season and he continues to improve in the current campaign, thus catching the eye of the United head coach.
"I personally think he'd be a massive asset for any club in the Premier League ... He's a special player, very comfortable on the ball and very gifted," Metro reported Merson as saying.
English football is currently suspended but when the season restarts, tentatively set in June, the Arsenal hero said the Aston star is one good reason to see the matches. After the lockdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Merson said "he cannot wait to watch again."
He pointed out the contribution that Grealish could bring to the United squad.
"His passing is always pitch-perfect ... He's the best three or four-yard passer I've seen in the game for a long, long time," said the football great, who also donned the Aston Villa shirt.
However, Merson conceded that Grealish must win the trust of bigger clubs in the league amid the perception that the attacking midfielder is not yet ready to deal with a huge responsibility of playing for teams like United.
"I think people are a little bit worried, can they trust him, he's going all over the pitch to get the ball," Mirror reported the pundit as saying.
He added though that Grealish can rise to the occasion, stressing: "If he went to a bigger club and a better club with better players who were on his wavelength I think he would play a position."
Merson suggested that Grealish will be more effective taking up an attacking role and in support of his team's key strikers. United, for instance, has recently acquired Bruno Fernandes and the club launched into an 11-game winning streak.
Fernandes led Solskjaer's side to consecutive wins and should Grealish joins up, his most optimal role would be playing in tandem with the Portuguese goalscorer, Merson said.
In any case, the pundit said United would continue surging in the league, which was the case before the games were halted. The Red Devils are at No. 5 when the games resume and if Solskjaer can stir up the squad to better consistency then things will only get better.
"I think they'll be better, no doubt about that," the Arsenal legend predicted.
