Manchester City's summer long pursuit of Jack Grealish appears to have intensified amid reports that a £100m offer has been tabled for the Aston Villa captain.
Pep Guardiola is a known admirer of Grealish and has pinpointed the England international and Tottenham's Harry Kane as his main transfer targets this summer.
City's pursuit has been well documented, with 90min confirming on Thursday that talks were progressing between with Villa - with a confidence that an agreement would be reached. Things may have now escalated further, with the Telegraph reporting that a bid of £100m - which would be a British transfer record - has been lodged.
Should the bid prove to be successful it would surpass Manchester United's £89m capture of Paul Pogba back in 2016.
Unsurprisingly, Villa boss Dean Smith is desperate to keep hold of his talisman as he looks to build a side capable of bettering their 11th-placed finish last season. The club have already attempted to secure Grealish's long-term future by offering him a lucrative £125,000-a-week deal.
Despite Smith's desire to retain the services of Grealish, 90min recently revealed that Villa owners Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris are in no mood to force the 25-year-old to stay at Villa Park if his heart lies elsewhere - though as of yet it's unclear what their exact valuation of Grealish is.
City have grown increasingly frustrated in recent weeks at Spurs' reluctance to engage in negotiations over a deal for their other main target Kane, with 90min revealing Daniel Levy isn't interested in entertaining offers for his prized possession.
Given City's talks with the north London club appear to have reached an impasse, they now seem focused on thrashing out a deal for Grealish for the time being.
Villa's hierarchy have already sanctioned the signing of creative midfielder Emi Buendia this summer and the club are continuing to monitor Bayer Leverkusen's Leon Bailey - moves which could be seen as a contingency plan should Grealish's exit be confirmed in the coming weeks.
Whether £100m is enough to tempt the Villans into parting ways with their captain remains to be seen, but City's bid certainly suggests they're determined to get their man.
Source : 90min