Aston Villa Sign Ex-Liverpool Star For $37M Ahead Of Parting Ways With Grealish

Aston Villa made the signing of Danny Ings official Wednesday just hours after announcing the arrival of Leon Bailey from Bayer Leverkusen. The Villa Park side is preparing to part ways with their captain Jack Grealish, who is tipped to join Manchester City in the underway summer market.

Ings switched from Southampton to Aston Villa on a three-year deal worth $37 million, reported The Guardian.

Grealish is set to undergo the medicals at Manchester City on Thursday after the paperwork was finished between the Etihad Stadium side and Aston Villa over a $139 million deal, according to Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, who has a credible record in European transfer markets.

Manchester City have decided to tie down Grealish until 2026.

"Danny is an outstanding Premier League footballer who has scored goals wherever he has played. He is also a top professional with a great character who will be a leader in our squad and a role model for our rapidly developing young Academy players who are now in and around the first team. I am delighted to welcome Danny to our great Club," Aston Villa boss Dean Smith told the club website.

After starting his career at Bournemouth in 2009, Ings made his way to Burnley in 2011. The club played in the second-tier English league between 2011 and 2014. When Burnley were promoted back into the Premier League, Ings earned massive attention, as he scored 11 goals in 35 matches. He was then roped in by Liverpool FC ahead of the 2015-16 season. His three seasons at Anfield were marred by a series of injuries and as a result, he was loaned off to Southampton.

After he scored eight goals in 25 matches in his maiden season for them, the St. Mary's side signed him permanently. Ings had an impressive run at Southampton, netting 46 goals and further providing 10 assists in as many as 100 appearances for the club across all competitions.

The announcement of Ings at Aston Villa came on the day Grealish signed a contract with Manchester City and is set to become the most expensive British player of all time.

Grealish, who recently had an impressive run at the Euros 2020, started his professional soccer career at Aston Villa in 2013. He was named the club captain in the middle of the 2018-19 season. He soon set a club record of 10 league wins in a row, which saw Aston Villa reach the play-offs where victories over West Bromwich Albion and Derby County earned them promotion to the Premier League after an absence of three years.

Under Grealish's captaincy, Aston Villa narrowly escaped relegation in the 2019-20 campaign, but his side returned stronger in the 2020-21 season, where they finished 11th in the Premier League table. One of the achievements of the Grealish-led Aston Villa side the last term was thrashing reigning champions Liverpool 7-2.