With the Premier League transfer window closing at 11pm on Tuesday, 1 September, Jack Grealish’s summer is coming to a head. Transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano says the Manchester City winger will pick his next club within days.
The two names in the frame are familiar. Aston Villa, the club that developed him, and Everton, the club that took him on loan last season, are both in contact with his camp. Sunderland’s earlier interest has dropped away.
Villa homecoming back in play
A return to Aston Villa would carry emotional weight. Grealish came through the club’s academy, captained the side and left in the £100m British-record transfer that took him to the Etihad in 2021. He turns 31 on 10 September.
Villa’s move has come late. Earlier this month, Football Insider reported Everton held “pole position” for his signature, with Villa contemplating a move for their former captain and Atlético Madrid also keen on offering him a first move abroad.
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Moyes wants him back at Goodison
Grealish spent last season on loan at Everton under David Moyes, contributing two goals and six assists before a stress fracture in his foot ended his campaign in January. Everton declined to trigger the purchase option in the loan, but Moyes has stayed openly keen to bring him back for a second spell.
Terms of a potential return were sketched out earlier this month. Goodison News reported wages on Merseyside would drop to £200,000 per week from the £300,000 he earns at City, and said at the time that Grealish was still rehabilitating from the January foot injury and not expected back in action until late August.
At the Etihad, Grealish has a year left on his contract. New head coach Enzo Maresca, appointed on 29 June to succeed Pep Guardiola, has not seen him in pre-season during that recovery.
According to The Hard Tackle, Everton remain the front-runners despite Villa’s late push, with the winger said to be open to returning to Merseyside.
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Nothing has been agreed. Romano’s timeline puts the decision within days, ahead of the 11pm deadline on Tuesday, 1 September.
