Everton will have to pay big money if they want to sign Jack Grealish on loan from Manchester City this summer, with a report revealing what the winger and manager Pep Guardiola spoke about at a recent Oasis concert.
Grealish fell down the Man City pecking order last season, making just 20 appearances in the Premier League. Across all competitions he managed just three goals in 32 outings.
Grealish faces competition for a starting spot from the likes of Jeremy Doku and Omar Marmoush.
It was briefly thought that the Englishman could help to replace Kevin De Bruyne for City by moving into a more central No 10 role, but Rayan Cherki has arrived at the Etihad this summer to compete with the likes of Marmoush and Phil Foden for that position.
Grealish did not travel to take part in this summer’s Club World Cup tournament in the US, heightening speculation he could be about to leave City.
As per The Observer, Grealish decided not to play at the Club World Cup so he could weigh up his future, rather than Guardiola brutally leaving him behind.
Grealish and Guardiola recently spoke backstage when Oasis performed one of their reunion shows at Heaton Park. The report claims the pair ‘spoke briefly and warmly’ in the VIP area and ‘Grealish came away from the conversation wondering if the best place to be might well be where he is now’.
The 29-year-old loves City and would be delighted to get back in their starting eleven, though that will be tough given the plethora of talent at Guardiola’s disposal.
Grealish has plenty of suitors in the event he does decide to leave City, and Everton is one option.
According to The Times, the Toffees have made contact to see if they can forge an agreement for Grealish in the coming weeks.
But Everton will have to pay £12million to sign the forward on loan. That is a huge price to have Grealish for just one season.
City want the majority of his £300,000-a-week salary to be paid as they look to trim down their wage bill.
Everton must now decide whether to pay that significant price to sign Grealish on loan or pursue different targets.
They could save that £12m fee and put it towards a permanent winger signing.
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Everton want new winger signing
Sources have confirmed to TEAMtalk that Everton are indeed interest in the former Aston Villa ace.
Everton have become frustrated with their struggles to land a winger so far and are also keen on other options such as Lyon’s Malick Fofana and Real Sociedad star Takefusa Kubo.
Returning to Grealish, the three-time Premier League champion has an offer to reunite with De Bruyne at Napoli.
This move is tempting as Grealish idolises De Bruyne, while he could also follow in Scott McTominay’s footsteps by leaving England to reignite his career at Napoli.
Turkish clubs have tried to open talks with Grealish’s camp but he does not want to move there.
City broke the British transfer record to sign Grealish for £100m in summer 2021 but will struggle to get anywhere near that price when letting him leave.
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