Today Stiliyan Petrov was available to answer some questions regarding the potential sale of Jack Grealish. He stated that," Jack is an amazing talent, one of the brightest young English prospects, but looking at the offer it almost seems too good to turn down. 17 million is a large amount of money and we also have to look at what is best for Jack here as well as the club. Jack can now develop at one of the best clubs in the league and Villa can take in a lot of money to reinvest for signings and future financial considerations. Furthermore, having a player like Jordan Graham who plays left wing as well, is 18, and has about the same potential as Jack, means that this deal can go through without Villa worrying about not having a youth gem. We still have Graham, and if Jack were to be sold Graham would step into his role. Now, considering that Jack has more ability currently actually plays in our favor because we already have Gabby [Agbonlahor] on the left, who no one can dispute is a club legend already at just 26. With Cole and Weimann available to play there and a possible signing coming in from outside England, keeping Graham to develop in the u21's until he reaches a higher level of play would be the best thing for Villa and we'd still be able to sell Grealish. Now, if Graham were to develop, who knows? A big club might come knocking and we'll see what happens. But, Grealish's transfer is still being considered by the club. We haven't confirmed anything yet, but if certain factors come into play it is likely that Jack will be moving on."
Fans, although slightly disappointed at the probable sale of a youth star, one of the brightest in the premier league, realize that it is good business for Villa and that this new reign under Petrov will undoubtedly have changes as well. Furthermore, having Graham can somewhat mitigate their disappointment as he looks to be just as promising as Grealish. Hopefully he will stick around for another few seasons at least, but if bigger clubs come knocking, who knows what could happen? A period of transition is inevitable.
The next time Petrov will speak will be at the Transfer Review Press Conference.
Source: avfc.co.uk