Jack Grealish
Manchester United could be forced to put their pursuit of Jack Grealish on hold, Ed Woodward has warned. United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has made signing Aston Villa captain Grealish a top priority heading into the next window.
Speaking at a fan forum event on Friday, Ed Woodward said “Nobody should be under any illusions about the scale of challenge facing everyone in football and it may not be ‘business as usual’ for any clubs, including ourselves, in the transfer market this summer. As ever our priority is the success of the team, but we need visibility of the impact across the whole industry, including timings of the transfer window, and the wider financial picture, before we can talk about a return to normality. On this basis, I cannot help feeling that speculation around transfers of individual players for hundreds of millions of pounds this summer seems to ignore the realities that face the sport.”
The 24-year-old playmaker has impressed in the Premier League this season with seven goals and six assists for a struggling Villa side. But Woodward admits any lavish spending plans might need to be shelved as clubs count the cost of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
