Everton have surprisingly entered the race to sign Jack Grealish from Manchester City, with the Merseyside club eyeing a statement signing under their new ownership.
The 29-year-old England international is expected to leave the Etihad this summer following a mixed four-year spell under Pep Guardiola.
Grealish, who joined City from Aston Villa in a British record £100million deal in 2021, has struggled for consistent game time over the past season and looks set to be left out of the Man City squad for the upcoming Club World Cup in the United States.
Instead, he and his representatives have been given the green light to pursue a move away, with interest anticipated from both Premier League rivals and clubs abroad.
READ MORE: Florian Wirtz to Liverpool next? Van Dijk tops ranking of all 17 £70m-plus Premier League signings
According to the Daily Mail, ‘no talks have yet taken place between City and Everton’, but the Toffees are monitoring the situation closely and are ‘aware of Grealish’s availability’.
A deal for Grealish would be hugely complicated, not least because of his reported £300,000-a-week wages.
Everton, like many clubs in the Premier League, are walking a tightrope with Profit and Sustainability Rules, making a permanent move extremely unlikely.
However, a season-long loan — potentially subsidised by City — is the most ‘likely’ transfer.
Should the Toffees manage to pull it off, it would be seen as a serious show of ambition from the Friedkin Group, who recently completed a deal to take control of the club.
A marquee signing of Grealish’s stature would signal a new direction at Bramley-Moore Dock, with the club’s hierarchy eager to build momentum both on and off the pitch.
Everton manager David Moyes is a ‘long-time admirer’ of Grealish, and a move to Merseyside could offer the midfielder the regular minutes he needs to reignite his career.
Grealish is targeting a place in England’s squad for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada, but his hopes of doing so have been hit by a lack of playing time under City boss Guardiola.
England head coach Thomas Tuchel has already cast doubt on Grealish’s international future unless his club situation changes.
After leaving the ex-Aston Villa captain out of his squad for this month’s international break, Tuchel said: “He’s a unique player but he needs minutes and minutes and minutes, and he simply does not get them.
“He needs to make himself available by playing.”
While Everton’s interest in Grealish is still at an early stage, the idea of him swapping the Etihad for the Hill Dickinson Stadium would have been unthinkable just a year ago.
But with City seemingly ready to part ways and the Toffees under new leadership, a shock deal may yet gather momentum.
