Celtic expressed interest in bringing Manchester City star Jack Grealish to the Parkhead club this summer, but he never seriously considered a move to the Scottish Premiership, according to The Athletic. Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers wants attacking reinforcements for the Hoops before the end of the transfer window, and signing the England international on loan would have been huge. However, Grealish has opted to join Everton on loan, with the deal officially announced earlier today.
The 29-year-old currently earns £300,000 a week, and Celtic would not have been able to cover such a huge salary. Everton will cover around three-quarters of it (£225,000), and a £50 million purchase option was also included in the deal. Despite their big dreams, the Bhoys would not have been able to afford such a big-money signing and not many players at such a level would be keen on joining them right now. They have started their title defence with two wins in two, but Rodgers will be more concerned about seeing Celtic impress in the league phase of the Champions League. The Hoops brought back Kieran Tierney from Arsenal on a free transfer and have also added Ross Doohan, Hayato Inamura, Benjamin Nygren, Callum Osmand and Shin Yamada to their team so far this summer.
They need more quality recruitment if they are to punch above their weight in Europe, and recruiting the services of someone as talented as Grealish would have been groundbreaking. He opted to remain in the Premier League and join Everton despite the opportunity to play Champions League football at Celtic, with a return to the national team set-up ahead of the 2026 World Cup very important to him.
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