According to The Athletic, Everton are unlikely to trigger the €50 million buy-option in Jack Grealish’s loan deal. Nevertheless, the Merseyside club remain keen to keep the English playmaker and will resume talks with Manchester City this summer.
The forward, who cost Manchester City roughly €117.5 million when he moved from Aston Villa in the summer of 2021, wanted regular game time ahead of the World Cup after a frustrating spell with the Citizens.
Everton offered him that platform and secured a season-long loan last summer.
Grealish’s first few months on Merseyside were encouraging. The 30-year-old made 22 appearances for the current eighth-placed side in the Premier League, scoring twice and providing six assists. More importantly, he seemed to rediscover his joy on the ball, a factor that had been missing during his difficult spell at the Etihad.
That run ended abruptly in early February when a stress fracture in his foot ruled him out for the remainder of the campaign; his final outing came in mid-January against his old club, Aston Villa.
That fee always looked prohibitive, and his subsequent injury has only reinforced the club’s caution.
Nevertheless, The Athletic reports that Everton are seeking a compromise and that new negotiations are expected at the end of the season, with both a fresh loan spell and a permanent transfer among the possibilities.
Everton remain optimistic that Jack Grealish will return to action in the Toffees’ blue shirt next season, after the winger signalled his contentment at Goodison Park. Manager David Moyes is central to that confidence; the pair enjoy a close bond forged during Grealish’s loan spell, and that personal connection has emerged as a pivotal factor in the club’s planning.
The fact that the forward-cum-midfielder chose to remain at Everton to recover from injury is significant; most loanees would return to their parent club, yet Grealish’s eagerness to repay the Toffees for their continued support is plain.
Everton’s medical staff have been impressed by his professionalism during rehabilitation, and the club’s fans, who have taken to chanting his name during home games, sense that his attachment to the club is genuine. Should he return permanently, he would slot seamlessly into Moyes’s 4-2-3-1 system, providing the creative spark that has often been missing on the left side of midfield.
Financial considerations have not been disclosed, but sources close to the club suggest that both parties are confident of finding a mutually agreeable solution. For now, the focus remains on Grealish’s recovery; once he is fully fit, the talks are expected to accelerate.