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Grealish got the winner | Getty Images
Everton will look to strengthen the squad again in the summer with the return of Jack Grealish on the table.
Jack Grealish has immediately taken to life at Everton and there is little doubt about how much he has enjoyed his time on loan from Man City.
The 30-year old has a huge fan in David Moyes, however, the £50m option to buy clause seems steep for a player of his age, regardless of how good a player he is or how much the Toffees want him to stay. A £20m re-negotiation has been mentioned with an even better deal now being said to be possible.
Everton could sign Jack Grealish for free
With just a year left on his contract, City won’t be difficult to deal with and, speaking to Football Insider, football finance expert Stefan Borson has claimed that Everton could land a bargain: “Well, I suggested to a journalist who said he had an excellent source that confirmed that Manchester City had already conceded that the only way they could get rid of Jack Greelish, who was finally over his contract, was to loan him out.
“I had the audacity to suggest that that really just can’t be true, as of 10 February, when I think it was. And I stand by that. I can’t believe that a club would make a decision that says, ‘we now no longer need a permanent deal’, and ‘we’re effectively prepared to accept a loan now for his final year’. What that translates to, almost certainly, is no fee at all.
“And let’s say the best you’re going to do is somebody to pay his wages. So it would effectively confirm that you write off the final year of his amortisation, and your only upside is that you’ve managed to get somebody to pay his wages. So from a profit and loss perspective, you still wear £15m of amortisation. From a profit loss, but also a squared cost ratio equation, and obviously also in terms of the amortisation cost. I’m just very sceptical as to whether that’s something that anybody would accept.”
Why Everton need to sign Grealish if the price is right
Everton shouldn’t break the bank to sign Grealish, although £20m probably is the going rate for a player with his profile and contract status. He maybe hasn’t been prolific in terms of goals and assists, but if Pep Guardiola valued his overall play in a treble winning season, then there is a player worth having around.
Signing Grealish could help to develop Tyler Dibling and to aid his transition from talented teenager to first-team regular. There should be a three-year plan for Dibling which could coincide with Grealish’s own, if he is signed, during which the young winger learns from someone who has been there and done it for club and country.
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