Richard Keys has urged Aston Villa to re-sign Jack Grealish for £50 million in January - half of what they got from Manchester City last summer.
Grealish arrived at the Etihad in a record £100 million deal during the summer and he's yet to show his best form in a City shirt.
The 26-year-old admitted the move has been harder to cope with than he expected and he's scored just twice in the Premier League.
Keys has now urged Villa to make a shock swoop for their former captain, claiming the big money transfer hasn't worked out for anybody.
"Why don’t Villa make a cheeky £50m bid for Grealish in Jan?" Keys asked on Twitter. "He hasn’t got any better. He hasn’t made City any better & nor will he. Wrong man. Wrong club (he knows a few). It would get everyone out of a hole."
Grealish is a boyhood Villa fan and helped them achieve promotion to the Premier League in 2019 and then stay up the next two seasons.
He was their star man and the England international hopes he can make a return one day, despite supporters being upset at the way he left.
The festive period saw Grealish and Phil Foden dropped for City's 4-0 win over Newcastle United after being pictured in a nightclub.
Manager Pep Guardiola was said to be unhappy with the duo's conduct and deemed them not fit enough to play.
"It was not rotation. I decided on this team because they deserved to play today, these guys and not the other ones," Guardiola admitted.
"At Christmas time I pay a lot of attention to behaviour on and off the pitch. And when off the pitch is not proper, they are not going to play.
"So we have to be focused all the time because of distractions at Christmas time and everything that happens - you have to still be focused."
City are currently 10 points clear at the top of the league following a tricky December for challengers Chelsea and Liverpool.
Both sides have lost to West Ham United and Leicester City respectively and played out an entertaining 2-2 draw on Sunday afternoon.
Meanwhile, City snatched a late 2-1 win against Arsenal on Saturday after Rodri's strike in added time.
Topics: Manchester City, Aston Villa, Jack Grealish, Premier League
Daniel Marland