MANCHESTER CITY have broken the British transfer record after shelling out £100m to sign Jack Grealish from Aston Villa.
Birmingham-born Grealish, who represented Ireland at Under-17, Under-19 and Under-21 level, had been at Aston Villa since he was six-years-old.
On Wednesday, the 25-year-old was spotted leaving City's training ground after successfully undergoing a medical, and less than 24 hours later, he'd signed a six-year-deal with the Premier League champions.
Rumours had been circulating for weeks that Pep Guardiola's side were prepared to spend big in order to land Grealish, and the transfer has eclipsed the £89m Manchester United spent to bring Paul Pogba back to the club from Juventus in 2016 - the previous record-fee ever spent by an English club.
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Shortly after the move was confirmed, Grealish penned a touching letter to Villa fans, many of whom felt betrayed by what they perceived as his desertion to a Premier League rival.
He stressed that he'll "always be a Villa fan" and that he hopes the fans "understand my reasons for seeking a new challenge."
After breaking into the Aston Villa first team back in 2014, Grealish remained with the club after their relegation from the top flight two years later.
He captained the side as they returned to the Premier League in 2019, helping them stay up the following season and achieve an 11th place finish last term.
Despite playing 19 times for Ireland youth sides and being a keen Gaelic footballer as a boy, he switched allegiance to England in 2016 after a protracted tug-of-war, having never made a senior appearance for Ireland.
It wasn't until 2020 that he managed to get his first call up to the England senior side, and while he hadn't much international experience under his belt, he played a starring role in the Three Lions' run to the Euro 2020 final this summer, where they were beaten by Italy on penalties.
