Former England forward Paul Merson has lavished praise on Jack Grealish, claiming that the Aston Villa attacker could one day captain Manchester United.

The Red Devils allegedly approached Villa earlier this month to determine whether Grealish would be available during the winter transfer window but were told that he was not for sale.

Villa could face a battle to keep hold of the 24-year-old, though, considering that he has scored eight times and registered six assists in 23 appearances at club level during the 2019-20 campaign.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side are thought to be closing in on a deal for Sporting Lisbon's Bruno Fernandes, but Merson has claimed that the 20-time English champions should instead target Grealish.

"Forget Bruno Fernandes - Manchester United should be trying to sign Jack Grealish. He is one of the top 10 players in the Premier League right now. He is absolutely different class and would walk into almost any other Premier League team," Merson wrote in his column for the Daily Star.

"Grealish would walk into the United team. Tottenham [Hotspur] tried to get him not long ago and he'd walk into their team right now as well. I can't explain to people how good this kid is. Aston Villa lost 6-1 to Manchester City and he was the only one who still had time on the ball.

"If Grealish went to Old Trafford he'd probably end up captain. He's that good. They need someone like him, who can get on the ball and make things happen."

Harry Maguire, who only arrived at Old Trafford over the summer, was confirmed as United's new captain on Friday as Ashley Young completed a move to Inter Milan.