Aston Villa star Jack Grealish is set for a big leap in the summer as reports said the playmaker will sign up with Manchester United in the upcoming transfer window. United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has marked Grealish a priority signing months ago, and according to Tim Sherwood, it's all but certain that the Villa midfielder will join the Red Devils.
The former Villa Park boss said Grealish wearing the United jersey is inevitable, and more so as Aston Villa will likely be relegated from the Premier League at the end of the current campaign.
"I think Jack Grealish is a deal which is already done ... I honestly believe there's only one club for Jack Grealish," Metro reported Sherwood as saying.
He added that Grealish is the caliber of player that will fit well in United as the club is in the middle of strengthening the front line. The 24-year-old has been identified by Solskjaer a few months and is part of the summer hiring list that includes Jadon Sancho.
The report said the Villa winger is poised to take one of the key midfield roles at Old Trafford with Sancho and another forward hiring target to complete the planned upgrade.
Grealish has continued to impress in the season and already scored nine goals for Aston. He has attracted the attention of United as early as December 2019 with Solskjaer praising the goal cleared by the midfielder when Villa visited Old Trafford late last year.
It was clear then that the Norwegian will work to bring the Villa star to his side but he will have to race against the competition. There are talks that other Premier League clubs have been monitoring Grealish with Manchester City looking to make a bid on the player.
However, former Liverpool star John Barnes sent a warning to the playmaker that joining a bigger team will not necessarily lead to a better football career. Barnes reminded Grealish that with United, he would fight for his spot in the first-team and it will be tough.
"He's the main man at Aston Villa, he does everything and everything comes through him, that's why he's got such a big profile and why he plays well," the Daily Star reported Barnes as saying.
He added that Grealish with the Red Devils will put the Villa man in competition with the likes of Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford, and Bruno Fernandes. It would mean that making the first-team every game is not assurance for Grealish unlike his position at Villa.
If the spell at Old Trafford will end up a struggle, it's also a possibility that Grealish's chance of playing for England would be hurt, Barnes added.
