Jack Grealish joined Everton on loan last summer, and he certainly enjoyed his time under David Moyes before being ruled out for the rest of the season with a foot stress fracture. The Toffees are thrilled with the impact he had, and they want him around next season as well.
While the Merseyside club do have an option to make the loan move permanent, they are looking to sign him on loan again for next season, according to Pete O’Rourke via Football Insider. The finances involved in a permanent deal are beyond Everton’s capabilities. As a result, they once again want to secure his services on a temporary basis.
Grealish made a name for himself while playing for Aston Villa before making a big-money move to Manchester City in the summer of 2021. He was an integral part of Pep Guardiola’s team in the initial years and played a big part in all their success.
However, he slowly went down the pecking order. Since the 30-year-old was no longer a part of their plans, he ended up joining the Toffees on loan ahead of the ongoing campaign. The Merseyside club even agreed upon a £50 million buy option.
Before getting injured, Grealish was involved in 20 league games, and he ended up contributing towards eight goals. David Moyes was delighted with his performances, and the English international certainly enjoyed playing for the Scottish manager.
Grealish is keen on staying at the Merseyside club beyond this season. Everton and their manager Moyes both want him around. However, they are not willing to trigger the buy option.
While speaking about Grealish’s future, O’Rourke said, “Yeah, I think you probably have to say that Everton are in pole position to sign Grealish if he does end up leaving Man City.
“Obviously, Everton do have that 50 million purchase option in the current loan agreement for Grealish right now, but Everton don’t really want to pay that.
“The positive news for Everton here is that Grealish is very much open for a return to Everton.
“He has really enjoyed working under David Moyes and obviously Moyes has been delighted to have Jack Grealish available to him as well.
“He’s obviously got no long-term future at Manchester City, I think that’s pretty certain. City will be open to all options to see Grealish move on whether that’s on a permanent or a loan.
“If he was going on a permanent, it’s still quite an expensive deal because of the wages that are involved and obviously the transfer fee as well, so Everton ideally would be interested in a loan deal again if they can get it.
“I think there’ll be talks to be held between Everton and City probably to see if a deal can be agreed.”
City are aware that Everton won’t pay that big a fee to make the move permanent. But since they are keen on getting him off their books, the Manchester-based giants are open to all possibilities. They are ready to negotiate a lower fee.
However, the Toffees are not up for a permanent transfer because of the overall cost of the transfer. They are looking to once again secure his services on loan. City might actually give the green light to the move, despite the fact that he will only have a year left on his deal next summer.
Another loan move would mean that he would leave City for free in the summer of 2027. Both clubs are expected to hold talks in the near future to see if some sort of a deal can be agreed.
