Jack Grealish Offered New Aston Villa Contract But Key Clause Keeps Exit Door Open

Aston Villa will make Jack Grealish the highest-paid player at the club with a new contract, but a key clause will leave the door open for a big-money move in the near future.

Villa's new owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens took a hard line stance to keep Grealish at the club despite a £25m bid from Tottenham, and with the transfer window now closed he will remain part of Steve Bruce's squad until January at the earliest.

Grealish's current contract earns him £20,000 a week but the Daily Star claims that Villa are ready to double that with a lucrative new offer as they flex their new-found financial muscle.

However, Villa know that the 22-year-old Grealish will not want to languish in the Championship beyond this season, so his new contract would contain a clause allowing him to leave if Villa miss out on promotion again.

Last season they risked their necks financially to reach the play-off final, but lost 1-0 to Fulham at Wembley.

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Sky Sports News understands that Grealish was told he could leave the club earlier this summer before Sawiris' takeover moved the goalposts.

While Villa were mired in financial trouble, Spurs tried to sign Grealish on the cheap with a cheeky bid of £3m plus Josh Onomah. Had they bid £25m at that stage, it would surely have been accepted.

Grealish has been at Villa since the age of 6 and the club's supporters sang "he's one of our own" as he played 83 minutes and created a goal in the 3-1 win at Hull on Monday.