Tottenham 'Clear Frontrunners' for Aston Villa Star as Championship Side Hold Out for £30m

​Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly front runners to sign highly rated Aston Villa youngster Jack Grealish.

Grealish was one of Villa's star performers last season, driving the ​Birmingham based side to the play-off final, where they ultimately came up short in a 1-0 loss to ​Fulham.

According to the ​Daily Mail, Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino tracked Grealish's progress throughout the 2017/18 season and was convinced that he needed to add the England Under-21 star to his squad.

Spurs and Villa are expected to hold negotiations over Grealish but appear far off in their estimations of his value. Villa value Grealish at £30m, but Tottenham, who are well aware of the club's current situation with regards to FFP, are rumoured to be planning an initial bid of £15m.

The north London club are aware that Villa are dealing from a position of weakness, with the club needing to raise £40m due to owner Tony Xia's cash flow issues. The issue isn't helped by the sacking of chief executive Keith Wyness and director of football Steve Round, as it leaves Villa boss Steve Bruce with the majority of the responsibility surrounding any potential transfers.

Although Villa will be looking to hold on to their star players such as Grealish, their financial position may well be their undoing this summer. Should Spurs manage to take advantage of this in the potential Grealish deal, they could be looking at a bargain for a highly talented player.