Tottenham's Jack Grealish Chase Could Have Succeeded, Says Steve Bruce

Tottenham Hotspur failed in their pursuit of Jack Grealish because they waited too long to make a move, according to Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce. 

Bruce admitted Villa were in such dire straits financially before Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens invested in the club in July that "everyone was for sale." He told TalkSport (h/t Sam McEvoy of MailOnline) that Spurs could have signed Grealish if they had moved early in the summer, but now the winger is in line for a new contract at Villa Park:

"He certainly will be in line for a new deal, the owners have said that. I think the new owner wanted to make a statement on it. It was fair to say we were in such a bad position financially that if Tottenham had done their work early then I'm sure he would have been a Tottenham player.

"Before the takeover came in, everyone was for sale. That's how difficult the situation was. Once you get into that realm, the problems were that you have to sell your best players - there was a time where I thought we'd have to lose [Jonathan] Kodjia, we'd lose Grealish, we'd lose [James] Chester, all the people that will attract big money."

In the lead-up to the transfer deadline on August 9 it looked as though Spurs would push through the signing of Grealish.

Per Dan Kilpatrick of the Evening Standard, the 22-year-old was keen to move to the north London outfit, and Spurs were confident of reaching an agreement with Villa. 

On this occasion, though, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy's longstanding penchant for taking deals right down to the wire looks to have worked against the club.

Julian Finney/Getty Images

Tottenham ended up signing no new players during the transfer window, a factor that could work against them in 2018-19 as they look to compete for silverware on multiple fronts.

Manager Mauricio Pochettino has a good squad to work with already, and they have arguably punched above their weight by securing top-three Premier League finishes three years in succession.

However, with top-four rivals Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City all having strengthened in the summer, it is possible Spurs could be left behind.

Grealish would have been an exciting addition to the squad. He would not necessarily have broken into the first team straight away, but he would have provided valuable midfield cover and doubtless could have made improvements to his game under Pochettino.

It will cause great frustration at Tottenham if their attacking depth proves to be lacking later in the season, as it is clear Grealish could have been signed if an earlier move had been made.