Jack Grealish’s second season on loan at Everton is only a few matches old, and his gaze is already fixed on the summer of 2027.
According to reporting from Football Insider and other outlets covering the saga, the 30-year-old has made clear his preference to stay at Goodison on a permanent deal once his Manchester City contract expires in June 2027, which would let Everton pick him up as a free agent.
Everton chief executive Angus Kinnear acknowledged the ongoing contact when speaking in August.
“Jack is a player we’ve remained in contact with. It was no secret that he decided to have his rehabilitation done here.”
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“He’s a player who’s fallen in love with the right shade of blue but ultimately he’s a Manchester City player at the moment and we need to respect that,” Kinnear told reporters.
Moyes stops short of a commitment
David Moyes has been more cautious. Asked recently about the prospect of making the loan deal permanent, the Everton manager said there had been “no final decision”, with the club expected to wait until later in the season before committing.
Grealish has made four appearances this campaign after a stress fracture in his foot, suffered against Aston Villa on 18 January, ended his first Everton loan spell. His only Premier League start so far came against Ipswich Town at Hill Dickinson Stadium, where he played 79 minutes in a 1-0 win on the eve of the international break.
Tyrique George, Tyler Dibling and Brennan Johnson have all pushed for places in Moyes’ attack while Grealish rebuilds his sharpness, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall holds down the number 10 role he could otherwise fill.
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Grealish marked his return to full training in August with his own message.
“The best feeling ever to be back in full training today for the first time in six and a half months,” he posted on Instagram. “Been so hard mentally, but it was all worth it today.”
City contract shaped by an FFP shadow
The timing of Grealish’s permanent push lands in an uncertain summer for Manchester City. On 29 September an independent commission found the club guilty of 114 of 115 charges relating to serious breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules between 2009-10 and 2017-18, with the club acquitted on a single charge.
City have confirmed they will appeal, with the sanctions hearing still to come. The range of possible penalties set out by the commission runs from fines to significant points deductions, and in the most severe form expulsion from the competition.
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Enzo Maresca, appointed as Pep Guardiola’s successor on a three-year contract at the end of June, has used Grealish sparingly, with the forward featuring only as a second-half substitute in City’s Community Shield defeat to Arsenal before his loan was agreed.
A free agent in 2027
Everton paid no transfer fee for the current arrangement and chose not to trigger a £50m option to buy Grealish permanently last summer. If he reaches the market as a free agent next June, that patience would be rewarded, which is the scenario his camp has signalled he favours. Grealish signed for City from Aston Villa in 2021 for £100m, a British record at the time.
Everton return to league action after the international break, with Moyes left to decide whether to hand Grealish a second Premier League start of the season.
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