James Chester has insisted that Aston Villa teammate Jack Grealish should not be criticised if he leaves Villa Park for the Premier League in the final week of the transfer window.

Grealish, 22, has been linked with a move away from Villa since the club failed to earn promotion back to the Premier League last season.

Tottenham Hotspur continue to be credited with an interest, and it is thought that the London club will complete a deal for the England Under-21 international before the window closes on August 9, although Chelsea are also said to be in the hunt.

Chester, who has recently committed himself to Villa, has claimed that Grealish "deserves to be playing at the very top of the game".

"I think Jack is the most talented player at the club and deserves to be playing at the very top of the game," Chester told reporters. "People forget he is still very young, but we know Villa will be a real threat to anyone in the division if he stays.

"It would be sad to see him go and I don't know if he will now that the ownership of the club has changed. But I don't think anyone should hold it against him if he ends up going to a top Premier League club."

Grealish has made over 100 appearances for Villa since debuting during the 2013-14 campaign.