Steve Bruce: 'Keeping Jack Grealish will be difficult'

Steve Bruce has vowed to do everything in his power to keep Jack Grealish at Aston Villa, but admits that "it is going to be difficult" to hold off any further offers.

The Villa boss revealed at the weekend that Tottenham Hotspur fell well short with their previous bid for the 22-year-old, who is reportedly valued at around £25m.

Grealish starred for Villa on Monday evening as they recovered from an early setback to beat Hull City 3-1 at the KCOM Stadium, and Bruce confessed after the match that keeping Tottenham at bay will not be easy.

Speaking to Sky Sports News, Bruce said: "He's a natural talent. He's matured, which is the big thing. This time last year, he damaged a kidney and was out for months. That was the change in Jack.

"He's a wonderful talent and we'll do our best to keep hold of him, but obviously it's going to be difficult. It's going to be a fraught two or three days."

On the performance of his side on Humberside, Bruce added: "The players have just got on with the job. It's been a difficult period for everybody. People have lost their jobs and there have been cuts here, there and everywhere.

"What's happened in the past couple of weeks has been fantastic for the club. We're delighted to have won but there's still a lot of work to be done."

Tottenham are not alone in showing an interest in Grealish as Chelsea, Crystal Palace and Fulham are all said to have made an approach.