Man City prepare Jack Grealish bid as Aston Villa open talks over new contract

The England international is a priority for Pep Guardiola this summer alongside Harry Kane

(PA)

Manchester City are preparing a bid to sign Jack Grealish, though Aston Villa have opened talks with their captain over a new long-term contract.

Grealish is one of City's priority targets this summer, alongside Harry Kane, and Pep Guardiola has made no secret of his admiration for the 25-year-old.

City are expected to firm up their interest in Grealish in due course but there has been no formal contact between the two clubs yet, with a move only likely after England's Euro 2020 campaign has concluded.

A bid of around £100m – a British transfer record – may be required to prise Grealish away from his boyhood club, who are determined keep their captain.

Villa opened talks with the England international over a new contract last week and negotiations are ongoing. Grealish signed a five-year deal just last summer.

City are also pursuing a deal for Kane, who has publicly expressed a desire to compete for major honours and asked for “a conversation” with chairman Daniel Levy.

Like Villa, Tottenham are equally determined to keep hold of a player many regard as their most important.

Any move for either Grealish or Kane will not necessarily mean that City must sell the likes of Bernardo Silva, Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez, who have been linked with moves away from the Etihad this summer.

If either the Grealish or Kane deal were to happen, they would likely eclipse the current British transfer record set by Paul Pogba's £89m move to Manchester United from Juventus in 2016.