Liverpool are in the lead when it comes to signing Aston Villa star Jack Grealish, according to the Sunday Express (h/t Daily Star).

The report claims that Tottenham are not willing to splurge more than £20m on the 22-year-old midfielder while Villa are looking for a fee in the region of £40m for their youngster.

Grealish was one of the most impressive players in the Championship last season but Villa’s failure to gain promotion and their financial issues could propel him to make an exit.

We seem to be ahead in the race as we are willing to pay more for Grealish and also include performance-based incentives.

Grealish scored three goals and provided six assists for the Villans last season but they lost in the play-off final to Fulham, meaning they must spend another season in the Championship.

While there is no doubt that Grealish has a bright future and is one of the better players in the Championship, we should not pay £40m for the 22-year-old.

Grealish did not take the Championship by storm last season but working under Jurgen Klopp could help the youngster reach his potential. Our German boss does have a habit of giving quality youngsters a chance but the problem is that we have a surplus of midfielders in the side right now.

The likes of Naby Keita, Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, James Milner, Georginio Wijnaldum and Adam Lallana make our ranks and Grealish, in all probability, would be lower than the mentioned players in the pecking order.

If the player is willing to stick around and prove his quality to Klopp, then he should be looking to join us. If not, our money will go down the drain.