in

Jack Grealish was offered to Tottenham aged 16 in swap transfer but Harry Redknapp said no


TOTTENHAM rejected the chance to sign Jack Grealish when he was a teenager, according to Tim Sherwood.

The pundit was Spurs manager between 2013-2014 and prior to that he worked as Under-21 boss under Harry Redknapp.

Tim Sherwood told Tottenham to sign Jack Grealish when he was only 18Credit: Getty
Sherwood was won over by the winger after watching him play just onceCredit: AFP

And in that role he first got a glimpse of Grealish and was left dazzled by the then Aston Villa wonderkid.

He advised Redknapp to try and make a move for the England star, suggesting a swap deal that would have seen Jermaine Jenas join Villa.

Recalling the story on talkSPORT, Sherwood said: “I watched him when he was 16 against Tottenham’s Under-18s.

“I remember going back to the first-team game at White Hart Lane and Redknapp said, ‘Well, what was the score?’

READ MORE IN FOOTBALL

“I said, ‘I don’t know H, all I was doing was watch this boy Grealish’.

“It was incredible. I said, ‘[Villa] want to take Jermaine Jenas, we should do a swap for this boy.’

“Harry, quite rightly, said, ‘He’s only 16, by the time he’s in the first-team I’ll be gone’. As a football manager he’s absolutely right, looking after yourself as you would do.

“But for the club it would’ve been a great move. It would’ve been a great move for Jermaine as he ended up going to Villa [on loan] anyway.”

Most read in Football

BETTING SPECIAL – BEST SPORTS BETTING APPS IN THE UK

Spurs did remain interested in Grealish and tried to sign him a few years later in 2018 but failed in their £20million bid for the winger.

They pursued him again in 2019 but were unwilling to match Villa’s £35m asking price.


Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk


Tagcloud:

Arsenal fans all say the same thing as Declan Rice laughs around with Ian Wright and Bukayo Saka in England training

Chelsea star Thiago Silva turns handyman as he climbs ladder and works on house while at home injured