Manchester City are progressing with their bid to sign Jack Grealish and believe the Aston Villa captain wants to join them this summer.
City are in talks with Villa over a deal for the England international, and are hopeful of bringing him to the Etihad Stadium for less than £100m.
It's unclear what Villa owners Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris exact valuation of Grealish is, with both owners previously hopeful that the 25-year-old could be persuaded to stay at Villa Park with the lure of a bumper new contract.
But 90min has been told that Edens and Sawiris will not force Grealish to stay should he confirm his desire to leave, and it is not believed City would have any issues agreeing personal terms as they are already aware of his likely demands - talks have already taken place.
City’s recruitment team agreed ahead of this summer that Grealish and Harry Kane would be their top two transfer targets, and although a deal for Tottenham striker Kane is not progressing as planned, their swoop for Grealish is moving ahead.
Sources with knowledge of the situation have confirmed to 90min that things are 'progressing', and City remain confident a deal will be done - a stance that hasn't wavered from earlier in the month.
Pep Guardiola would ideally like to have a deal for Grealish finalised before City's opening game of the 2021/22 campaign - against Leicester in the Community Shield on 7 August - but time is running out for the two clubs to come an agreement by then.
Should City wrap up a deal for Grealish, they would then look at sanctioning some outgoings - and one player who could be heading for the exit door is Bernardo Silva.
90min understands that the Portuguese's representatives have been working behind the scenes in recent weeks to drum up interest in the former Monaco playmaker, who arrived in England four years ago for an initial fee of €50m.
Source : 90min