Chelsea Ready To Splurge To Beat Man City In Signing $142M English Midfielder: Report

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has reportedly promised financial backing to the club if they can reach a deal with Manchester City’s target Jack Grealish.

Chelsea have a "concrete interest" in Grealish and Abramovich has made it clear to the hierarchy that he will financially back top signings such as Grealish if deals are reached, an unnamed source from the club told soccer website Football Insider. International Business Times, however, could not verify it independently.

It was earlier reported that Chelsea are favorites in the race to sign the English midfielder Grealish in the ongoing summer transfer window.

It has also been reported that Aston Villa will not accept any bids less than the British record fee of around $142 million. While Manchester City are preparing to make Grealish English football’s first-ever £100 million ($142 million) player, they could well be beaten by Chelsea, who have never hesitated to swell their bank balance.

Given Chelsea’s past record of splashing financial resources in the transfer market, their latest obsession with Grealish could be a concern for Manchester City. Last summer, Chelsea were the biggest spenders, with expensive signings including Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, Ben Chilwell, Hakim Ziyech and Edouard Mendy.

Ever since Grealish returned to top-flight soccer with Aston Villa, two years ago, he has drawn attention from the two Manchester clubs: United and City. While Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is understood to be prioritizing the transfer of Jadon Sancho over Grealish, City have made the Aston Villa captain their top target in the 2021 summer market.

After nearly escaping relegation from the Premier League in the 2019-20 season, Grealish led the Villa Park side to the 11th spot in the league table in the recently ended English soccer campaign. He netted seven goals and provided 12 assists in as many as 27 matches for his boyhood club, across all competitions in the 2020-21 term. Moreover, he signed a five-year deal last September which will ensure Aston Villa has leverage in the upcoming negotiations with clubs such as Chelsea and Manchester City.

Grealish is currently on international duty with England in the underway Euros 2020. England have played three matches so far in the tournament, out of which, Grealish has featured in two. Against Scotland, Grealish came off the bench, while against Czech Republic, Grealish started the game. The 25-year-old midfielder assisted Raheem Sterling’s goal Tuesday, helping England seal the game 1-0 and qualify for the last-16 stage.