Jack Grealish’s future at Manchester City is complicated.
The £100m winger is not part of Pep Guardiola’s plans for the 2025/26 campaign after a disappointing season last time around, but Man City have not found it easy to move the 29-year-old on throughout the current transfer window.
Man City are seeking £50m to part ways with Grealish permanently, while loan deals are being hampered by the player’s £300k-a-week wages.
Everton are one of the clubs showing interest in Grealish, but the Englishman will have to make a big sacrifice if he wants to play for the Merseyside club throughout the new Premier League season.
Jack Grealish in action during Nottingham Forest v Manchester City.
Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images
Jordan Pickford’s wages are a big problem for Jack Grealish
Everton are confident they can sign Grealish this summer, but the Merseyside club require the winger to follow in the footsteps of Marcus Rashford, who took a 25% pay cut to move to Barcelona for the 25/26 campaign.
However, there is a major difference in these two cases, as even though the Catalan club have financial issues, 25% was enough to get the deal done, while there are several players ahead of the Man United loanee on the payroll.
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If Grealish were to move to Everton over the coming weeks, the 29-year-old would have to take more than a 50% pay cut, as Jordan Pickford is the Toffees’ highest earner on £125k-per-week; therefore, the Man City star would need to earn less than this.
Player Salary
Jordan Pickford £125k
Idrissa Gueye £120k
Jarrad Branthwaite £120k
James Tarkowski £100k
Michael Keane £70k
Everton’s payroll (via Spotrac)
If the England star were to accept around £150k-a-week at Everton, there is a chance the Merseyside club would cause disharmony within David Moyes’ dressing room, as players would not be happy about earning less than a loan player.
All this is complicating the winger’s move to the Blues, and now it comes down to how much Grealish wants to play for England at the FIFA World Cup, as leaving Man City is the only way to do this.
However, being realistic, it was very hard to see the City star reducing his wages from £300k-a-week to around £115k, which is a much bigger sacrifice than the one Rashford has had to make to move to a Champions League club in Barcelona.
Tottenham would be the ideal destination for Jack Grealish
It was reported this week that Tottenham have an interest in Grealish, but it remains uncertain if the North London club will make a serious move for the Man City star.
In an ideal world, this would be the perfect destination in the winger’s eyes, as Spurs have Champions League football to offer the 29-year-old, and his salary cut would not have to be as big.
This would be similar to Rashford’s case, whereas a move to Everton is asking too much from the Englishman.
There is some way to go before Grealish’s future is decided, but wherever the former Aston Villa star goes, it won’t be an easy deal to get done.