Dean Smith has told Aston Villa’s leading lights Jack Grealish and John McGinn “You’re going nowhere" amid links with Manchester United and Tottenham.
Villa manager Smith has quashed rumours the pair will be quitting the club as speculation mounts they will be moving on during January’s transfer window.
Manchester United have been linked with McGinn since the summer while Tottenham have a long-held admiration for Grealish.
Villa are backed by billionaire owners Nassef Sawaris and Wes Edens, and Smith is confident both McGinn and Grealish will be staying put.
He said: “There’s been a lot of speculation about a lot of players – but we have two owners who want to build a football club.
“They want to be challenging the top half of the Premier League table and in the top six in a few years’ time.
“To do that you have to keep your best players and there are no doubts in my mind that the owners will want to keep those players.”
Smith, whose side meet Newcastle in the Premier League on Monday, said McGinn "walked into training with a real bounce in his step" following Scotland’s qualification for the European Championship play-off semi-final against Israel.
He said of McGinn: “He’s scored six goals in three and improving every game he plays. He works hard in training, he’s scoring goals at international level as well, so he just needs to keep improving.
“I’ve no doubt he will because he has a great head on his shoulders. He’s an intelligent boy, but on top of that he’s a really good lad in the dressing room.”
Grealish, 24, is contracted to Villa until 2023, while 25-year-old McGinn is committed to the club for another year after that.
