Transfer update: promising Spurs youngster could leave while Grealish starts Villa friendly

Look, let’s not sugar coat it: I don’t have good news on the transfer front for you today. In fact, I have two short pieces of info that aren’t necessarily awful, but could be harbingers of bad things to come.

First, there’s Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish, and while this news isn’t great for Tottenham Hotspur, it’s definitely a good sign for Villa. Just days after the club was bailed out with new ownership and an influx of cash, there were signs that the Villains might not have to sell Grealish to Tottenham for a cut-rate price after all. And today, instead of being held out in anticipation of his transfer to north London, Grealish is starting Villa’s friendly today against West Ham United.

Does that mean he’s not coming? No. Does it mean that there’s still no movement towards actually getting him here? Yep.

The other bit of bad news comes in the form of a rumor from Twitter user @Lilywhite_Rose, an account that specializes in Tottenham youth and has been a reliable source of information regarding development squad comings and goings. And if you like Reo Griffiths, you might want to sit down.

Reo, a super talented teenage striker in Spurs academy who lit up the U18s last season, was rumored earlier in the summer to want to leave for the Bundesliga, but was convinced to sign a third year scholarship contract with Spurs instead. That indicated that he was ready to keep working to try and break through into Tottenham’s first team. However, he also was left behind on Spurs’ preseason tour when many thought he might get a chance to show off a bit in USA.

If true this would seem to indicate that Reo would rather try and get first team minutes now and not wait for his turn at Spurs. A lot of England youth players are taking this route, and it’s hard to blame them if they feel like they’re not breaking through with their Premier League clubs. It seems unlikely to me that Reo would be able to get significant minutes this season at Lyon, but maybe he’s thinking he’ll have a better chance to make the leap in the near future in Ligue 1 than in the Premier League.

No, neither of these rumors are confirmed (except that Grealish is in fact playing for Villa right now), but they’re certainly not positive indicators. I’m trying to keep a happy face on right now, but this damn club sure doesn’t make it easy sometimes. At least we have the Roma friendly tonight to distract ourselves.