Aston Villa's battle to keep hold of Jack Grealish in the summer may have just become even harder, with the news that West Ham and Bournemouth have joined Premier League rivals Tottenham in the battle for the attacking midfielder's signature.

Spurs had been strongly linked with the signing of Grealish last summer, but the midfielder elected to stay at Villa Park, and signed a new five year contract with Villa in September.

Now the Daily Mirror have reported that, as well as Spurs renewing their interest in Grealish, fellow Premier League sides West Ham and Bournemouth are also taking an interest in the 23-year-old.

Grealish has been a key component in Villa's resurgent push into the Championship play-off places in recent weeks, with Dean Smith's side winning all four games since his return from injury, having taken maximum points just twice in the thirteen games missed by the midfielder.

The verdict

The race for Grealish looks set to make this another long, hard summer for Villa and their fans. If they fail to convert that playoff push into Premier League promotion that is.

Grealish has proven he is ready to step up into the Premier League again, and England manager Gareth Southgate's comments that he needs to be playing in the Premier League to come into consideration for the national team will not have done Villa any favours should they fail to reach the top tier.

It may well be these claims that have got the likes of West Ham and Bournemouth interested.