Manchester City's Jack Grealish
Manchester City's Jack Grealish
The chances of Jack Grealish returning to Aston Villa this summer could take a hit as German side Bayer Leverkusen, ravaged by Premier League champions Liverpool, emerged as the latest contenders to offer the playmaker a route out of Manchester City in the transfer window.
Grealish is destined to leave City after four years, during which he has won three Premier League titles and the Champions League among other pieces of silverware but, with two years remaining on his deal at the Etihad Stadium, it appears as though time is running out.
The 29-year-old is expected to be among the most in-demand players in Europe this summer, having been made available for a move by Pep Guardiola, who has left him at home ahead of City's trip to the US this summer for their Club World Cup campaign.
It's the surest sign yet that Grealish, who has been urged by Guardiola and England boss Thomas Tuchel to find regular football since the end of last season, must move on in the transfer window. He's likely to have his pick of destinations, too.
Villa, naturally, have been linked with a reunion, while rivals Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur could also offer opportunities to Grealish to remain in the Premier League, although those potential moves would likely involve only taking Grealish on loan because of his substantial wages, in the region of £300,000 a week.
Napoli, the Serie A champions who are set to sign Grealish's former City teammate Kevin De Bruyne on a two-year deal, are another side who could hand the attacker a chance to try his hand at football on the continent.
Now, SunSport report that Leverkusen are interested in bringing Grealish to the Bundesliga; the 2023-24 German champions have lost manager Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid and defenders Jeremie Frimpong to Liverpool and Jonathan Tah to Bayern Munich since the end of the season. They have appointed Erik ten Hag as Alonso's successor.
The former Manchester United boss is set to lose Florian Wirtz, the German international, to Liverpool too for a fee well in excess of £100m and he wants Grealish to replace him once that deal goes through. Grealish is rated at being worth £40m by City, who will point to his contractual status and book value.
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