Everton are reportedly ‘setting their sights’ on a Manchester City flop who could reunite with Jack Grealish amid his resurgence with the Toffees.
Everton have had a good start to the 2025/26 season. In the Premier League, they find themselves eighth, with three wins and two draws from seven games so far.
They are just two points below City, and could now take a player from the serial Premier League champions.
Football Insider reports the Toffees are ‘setting their sights’ on midfielder Kalvin Phillips. Indeed, they have an ‘active interest’ in him as they assess the market for central midfielders in January.
It’s believed a permanent move will be difficult for all parties, but a loan could work.
The midfielder is clearly not in Pep Guardiola’s long-term plans at City, having played just 32 games since he joined in 2022.
Phillips has played just seven minutes in a City shirt since 2023/24, and has since been on two loans, to West Ham and then Ipswich – neither very successfully.
But former team-mate Grealish is proof that things can get better once leaving City, and he’s doing it with Everton.
He played just 20 games for City in the Premier League last term, starting just seven of those. His next league start for the Toffees will be his seventh of the season, and we’re in October.
Grealish has four assists and a goal to his name already at Everton, and he is clearly able to have more influence on the game there than he was at City, with his 28.5 touches per game in the Premier League last season rising markedly to 53.4 this term.
For Phillips, a man who’s had almost no impact anywhere for a couple of seasons, seeing the rebirth of a former team-mate at Everton will surely be inspiring.
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Grealish and Phillips have played over 1000 minutes together in their careers, spanning over 35 games, and they’ve been on the winning side in 26 of those.
While they were playing in high-quality City and England sides, the squad at Everton is thriving, and it will surely be a good sign for the Toffees that they could add a player who has had success alongside one of their best assets currently.
Whether a new lease of life will come for Phillips at Hill Dickinson remains to be seen, but there is certainly hope given what Grealish is doing.
READ MORE: Guardiola told to quit Man City and ‘regenerate’ amid FFP verdict ‘expectation’
