I don't mind saying that what I'd heard about Grealish came from Barnett's office (that's his agent).
Personally I think City probably know that they are the only team with the liquidity to do Grealish/Haaland and are therefore trying to drive prices down by claiming no interest due to transfer fees.
There's so much still to play out that the smart thing to do is to not get too invested in headlines right now. Until the CL is over, City aren't going to do anything which would confirm/deny any interest in potential transfers this summer IMO.
Once we've won the quad they'll start being a bit less guarded :)