Jack Grealish's proposed transfer to Everton has been discussed by the club's former chief executive Keith Wyness
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Jack Grealish of Manchester City
Jack Grealish of Manchester City(Image: Molly Darlington/Copa/Getty Images)
Jack Grealish’s proposed transfer to Everton “is a possibility” and could transform the team into a “fabulous” attacking unit but it would have to be a loan deal. That’s the verdict of an ex-Goodison Park chief.
An article in the Daily Mail on Sunday claimed Everton are monitoring Grealish’s situation (as expected, he has subsequently been left out of Pep Guardiola's squad for the FIFA Club World Cup). The piece states: “Inside Sport understands that no talks have taken place between the two clubs, but that the Merseyside outfit is aware of Grealish’s availability.
“Any potential move would be likely to be in the shape of a loan deal, with the former Aston Villa man’s £300,000-a-week wages an issue with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules continuing to trigger headaches across the competition. However, bringing the England international to Bramley-Moore Dock would be seen as a serious statement of intent for the club’s new owners, the Friedkin Group.”
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Former Everton CEO Keith Wyness, who held a similar role at Aston Villa when Grealish played for the West Midlands club, believes City would have to continue paying part of the £100million man’s salary if he were to join Everton.
The 67-year-old, who now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs, told Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast: “I just don’t see how that big financial chasm is going to be filled. A loan would be the only potential option I could really see, where City would carry on paying part of his wages and Everton contributing.
“There is a possibility, but I think Everton have got bigger rebuilds to do and I don’t know if they’re to build a team around a 29-year-old like Jack at the moment, so that’s the issue there. I’m very fond of Jack as a person and I just love watching him play.
“All the experts, when I was at Villa, when we had him, they’d always tell me, watch the way Jack accepts the ball and he is a yard quicker than everybody else, just on the way he controls the ball and accepts it. I don’t know what David Moyes would do, he’d need somebody as a striker to be able to service, but certainly Iliman Ndiaye and Grealish would be fabulous to have behind the striker, and make them a very attacking team to watch.”