Manchester City winger Jack Grealish spent last season on loan at Everton
The door has been left open for a potential Jack Grealish return to Everton after the left winger was left out of Manchester City’s squad for their 11-day tour of the Far East.
City face Internazionale in Hong Kong on Saturday before a brace of fixtures in Seoul against K League All-Stars on Wednesday and then Atletico Madrid a week on Sunday. As reported by BBC Sport though, any immediate hopes of seeing Grealish donning their sky blue jersey once more have been dashed though after he missed a seat on the plane to China despite being one of the players who returned to pre-season training last week.
Following his appointment at the Etihad Stadium, new boss Enzo Maresca, who has replaced Pep Guardiola after a trophy-laden decade-long spell in charge, was asked about Grealish’s future last week. The Italian said: “At the moment, he is here.
“He is a Manchester City player. I always said the same.
“In any club I join, I like to know if there are players that belong to the club. It’s my duty to try to coach them.
“Jack is here. I have a good relationship with Jack since I left.
“Also, we keep in touch, and the reason why is because he has a big heart and he is a very good guy. So, this is the reason why and then we see what happens.”
However, the current situation has echoes of last summer when Grealish was omitted from City’s squads for the FIFA Club World Cup in the USA despite having played a prominent role in their treble-winning side of 2023 after becoming the first £100million English footballer in 2021 when he joined them from boyhood club Aston Villa.
The Brummie ace impressed during his time on Merseyside, receiving the first Premier League Player of the Month award of his career in the week of his 30th birthday after providing four assists in his first two starts and he then followed that up with Hill Dickinson Stadium’s first stoppage-time winner in the 2-1 comeback victory over Crystal Palace and Everton’s first Premier League success over Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.
However, after helping the Blues to arguably their best result of the season, a 1-0 triumph on January 18 back at Aston Villa, who had won their previous 11 home games, it was revealed that Grealish had suffered a major injury setback and he has subsequently undergone surgery for a stress fracture in his left foot.
Despite this disappointment, video footage of him at the club’s end-of-season awards black-tie event showed him enjoying himself with friends while leading the singing of: “One more year, Jackie Grealish, playing football the Everton way.”
The ECHO understands that there is an appetite from Grealish and Everton alike for him to return to Hill Dickinson Stadium next season, but the deal has to be right for both parties.
City were quoting £50million for him last summer and as much as his football intelligence improves the Blues’ play and they’ve missed him in the second half of the campaign, they will not be smashing their transfer record for a player coming off the back of a serious injury who turns 31 in September and there could be a wait until later in the summer transfer window to strike a deal.
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