Manchester City are demanding that any club wanting to take Jack Grealish on loan pay all of his wages, as Everton are linked with the out-of-favour midfielder.
Grealish has been looking for a path out of the Etihad all summer but interest has been minimal for the 39-cap England international.
However, on Wednesday, reports suggested that Everton had contacted City over a loan move for the 29-year-old and transfer expert Ben Jacobs believes the Manchester club will only sanction a move if the entirety of his wages are covered.
Grealish currently earns around £300k a week, more than double what Everton’s current highest earner, Jordan Pickford, takes home.
That stipulation may well put David Moyes and the Everton board off, but having missed out on Southampton’s Tyler Dibling, they could decide to put all their eggs in the Grealish basket.
According to Football Insider, Grealish has ‘let it known to be friends’ that he is ‘open’ to a move away from City, and is ‘excited’ by the prospect of heading to Everton.
It’s said the ‘glamour’ of their new stadium and the possibility of a regular starting role is attractive to Grealish, who does not just want to be a squad player.
Having played 157 times for the club, the midfielder has not featured in any of City’s pre-season games and was left off their Club World Cup squad.
Ahead of the summer tournament, manager Pep Guardiola said Grealish had to “have the butterflies in his stomach that he can play every three days.”
“He had a conversation with the club and [we] decided [what was for] the best,” Guardiola said. “Jack is an exceptional player. The only reason why he didn’t play last season is of course my decision. We decide that he has to play.
“The club was honest, he was honest. Incredible love and respect [for him] and we decide the best is to stay [behind] and have a place [at home] that he can feel like he can come back to be the player like he was in the year of the treble or all his career in Aston Villa.
“Without him it would have been more difficult in the year of the treble [2022–2023]. The fact is in the last two seasons he didn’t play much minutes. He has to come back to play and have the butterflies in his stomach that he can play every three days and show again the quality he has.”
Grealish joined City in 2021 from Aston Villa for £100m, a record fee for an English player. Whilst at the Etihad, he has won three league titles, one FA Cup, the UEFA Super Cup, the Club World Cup and the UEFA Champions League.
His removal from the City first team has also cost him his England spot, with Grealish last featuring in a Nations League group stage match against Finland in October. He was not called up to the Euro 2024 squad.
