He would’ve been aware. He would’ve spoken enough to those at Villa to have been told the situation, the fact he made multiple bids throughout the window implies he knew Grealish was gettable, otherwise it basically says Levy’s stupid for persisting with a player that was off limits, for all Levy’s faults of late, I don’t think he’s an idiot.
Clubs don’t generally pursue the same players as many prefer to avoid bidding wars. Back then Grealish didn’t have the rep he has now either. We ballsed up because he could’ve easily been ours had we met the asking price, instead we made a number of lowball bids, beginning with £3m plus Onomah.