Football

Jack Grealish willing to take pay cut to return to Aston Villa this summer

Aston Villa have received encouragement about an exciting summer signing after sealing progression into the Europa League quarter-finals.

Emery praises resilient Villa

Thursday’s win against Lille keeps Villa’s dreams of a trophy alive and, after falling short in the Conference League and Champions League in the last two seasons, Europa League specialist Unai Emery must be eyeing a fifth title in Istanbul in May.

Their journey under the Spaniard has been full of highlights and three successive European quarter-finals are proof of that.

Emery is also the fastest Villa manager to 100 wins and his achievement was recognised before kick-off with home fans holding up a Tifo display.

This match was nowhere near the top of the list of memorable displays under Emery, although the hosts did dominate.

Emery said: “I am happy with how we performed over two matches, how we tried to play seriously, being organised, respecting the opponent.

“(We played) not so brilliant, but being consistent and defending well. When we had our moments to be ruthless we needed it. We needed those two matches to show this competitive way.

“We are focusing all the season through the Premier League, that is the priority. The Europa League is a competition that is very difficult to win, but we have to enjoy the process, enjoying the way, competing, using different players and trying to compete, it can help us find a structure in our squad.”

He’s finished after Sancho display: Aston Villa star must never start again

An Aston Villa star could well find minutes hard to come by under Unai Emery in the Premier League.

Villa host relegation threatened West Ham to town on Sunday, and Emery could be without Youri Tielemans again despite the Belgian nearing a return, while Boubacar Kamara is expected to miss the rest of the season, and it sounds like the club could try to strengthen their midfield ranks in the summer.

Grealish willing to take pay cut to return to Aston Villa

Jack Grealish is not expected to stay at Everton permanently when his loan spell reaches a conclusion this summer, but Man City are keen to shift his £225,000-a-week wages off the books.

And the former local hero, who has been crowned a Premier League and Champions League winner at City, would be open to a return to where it all began, even if that means taking a pay cut, Football FanCast sources understand.

Sources close to the player expect him to priotise playing time in choosing his next destination this summer, and Villa’s quest to compete on four fronts will hand him plenty of opportunities.

Grealish has scored twice and provided six assists for the Toffees this season, and his City contract expires in 2027, meaning the upcoming window is their last chance to receive a reasonable fee for his services.