Remember the time when Tottenham were hot on the pursuit of Aston Villa star Jack Grealish?
Daniel Levy was unwilling to go above the £25million mark back in the summer of 2018 but it was understood that an offer in the region of £40m could have potentially made the Villains more open to cashing in on their star. This didn't happen and instead, the West Midlands outfit will be glad they held off for a few more years as Man City decided to stump up a British record £100m to take the 27-year-old.
It's a decision that looks costly as despite Pep Guardiola's adamancy that his number 10 isn't in the team to just contribute goals, attaining a mere 11 goal contributions in 45 games to date presents an underwhelming return for the significant investment made by the Citizens.
READ MORE: Tottenham and Thiago Silva send message to Richarlison after Brazil vs Tunisia racism incident
With this taken into account after the player in question admitted himself that he needs to do more on the goal front after netting a rare goal at Molineux in the last Premier League gameweek before the international break, a former Spurs icon has come out to back Levy's decision made a few years ago not to raise his original £25m.
Jamie O'Hara believes even if the Brummie was to move to Tottenham right now, he would be behind in Antonio Conte's pecking order when compared to Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski.
“Jack Grealish has looked miles off it,” O’Hara told Grosvenor Sport. “He’s not good enough for Manchester City on this form. I like Jack, I think he’s England’s golden boy, he was brilliant at Aston Villa in an average team, where he could get the ball, carry the ball and win free-kicks... But it’s a different level at Manchester City. I don’t think he’d currently get in the team for Tottenham either. Not ahead of Son Heung-min, or Dejan Kulusevski. I don’t think so.
“The way he is playing at the moment, I think he’s one-dimensional and he needs to change his game. He needs to have a bit more belief in himself, take the £100 million price tag off his back. He needs to think, I’m going to get the ball, I’m going to carry it, go round players, if I give it away and I get dragged off after 55 minutes, so be it.
“You’re better off being yourself in a game and walking off the pitch afterwards thinking, I’ve done me today. That’s better than walking off the pitch after being dragged off by Pep Guardiola once again and thinking, I kept it simple, I kept passing it five yards to Kevin De Bruyne.”
There are quiet rumours that Grealish could be looking for an early exit from East Manchester as soon as this summer, according to 90Min, meaning it's certainly a situation to keep an eye on over the next few months.
Tottenham fans - if you could only sign one of James Maddison or Jack Grealish next summer, who are you picking and why? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!
READ NEXT:
Tottenham's best ever Premier League transfer revealed
The five key Tottenham decisions Antonio Conte must make for North London Derby vs Arsenal
Harry Kane sends warning to Arsenal with perfect Tottenham response ahead of North London Derby
Unexpected Mali decision is mixed blessing for Yves Bissouma and Tottenham boss Antonio Conte
Djed Spence and the five Tottenham stars trying to catch Conte's eye during the fixture pile-up
