In June of last year — as Aston Villa prepared for Manchester City to activate a £100million buyout clause in Jack Grealish’s contract — there was no sense of panic at the club.
They had a plan for the summer. They had worked it out. If the talismanic Grealish stayed then they would buy three new players. If he went, they would try to buy six. I wrote about this on this page, suggesting that Grealish’s departure need not be seen as a disaster for a team that relied on him too heavily. The reaction from Aston Villa supporters was not overly positive, to say the least.