Tottenham Target Jack Grealish Reportedly Forced Release Clause Into New Aston Villa Contract

Aston Villa playmaker Jack Grealish was able to convince the club of putting a £45m release clause into his new contract in the West Midlands, following a

Aston Villa playmaker Jack Grealish was able to convince the club of putting a £45m release clause into his new contract in the West Midlands, following a summer transfer window where Premier League side Tottenham had offers for the midfielder rejected.

The 23-year-old has been flirting with the idea of a move away from Villa Park for some time, and many expected that Spurs' £25m offer last month would have been enough to lure Grealish back to the top flight.

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However, the takeover of Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens put Aston Villa in a strong position to reject all offers for their star player. Once the transfer window closed, both parties entered talks to discuss signing a contract extension.

Those talks eventually came to a conclusion earlier this week when it was announced Grealish put pen to paper on a new contract. The midfielder is now tied to the club until 2023. 

Most importantly, however, is that Grealish was able to force the club to put a release clause in his new contract, according to the Times.

Jack Grealish signs a new five year deal with Aston Villa, keeping him at the club until next summer's transfer window.

— Paddy Power (@paddypower) September 24, 2018

The former England Under-21 international will be free to leave the Birmingham outfit if any club decides to meet the new £45m clause in his improved deal.

Suitors could be hard to come by if Grealish's numbers are anything to go by this season. After 11 games across all competitions, the creative midfielder has registered just one assist which came on the opening day of the season.

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Many fans expect Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino to launch another bid for the Aston Villa star next summer, but the north London side will now be forced to pay almost double what they were willing to in August.