Jack Grealish struggled for minutes at Manchester City last season. / IMAGO/Pro Sports Images
Jack Grealish has brought an end to his time on the sidelines for Manchester City, temporarily at least, by joining Everton on a season-long loan.
The 29-year-old England international was deemed to be surplus to requirements by Pep Guardiola by the end of the 2024-25 domestic campaign and was left at home for the Club World Cup. City were reportedly prepared to accept bids as low as £40 million ($54.1 million) for the club-record £100 million recruit, yet no suitors were forthcoming.
Everton ultimately made their interest known and have now secured the former Aston Villa maverick for the 2025-26 campaign. Reports suggest that the loan deal includes an option to buy worth an ambitious £50 million.
"I'm over the moon to have signed for Everton," Grealish gushed to the club's in-house media channel upon his arrival. "It's massive for me, honestly. This is a great club, with great fans.
"As soon as I spoke to the manager, I knew there was only one place that I wanted to go. On social media, I've been flooded with messages from Everton supporters, so there's that side of it as well and that's another reason why I chose Everton.
"I want to say thank you to the fans for all of the messages I've had already. Thank you for all of the love and support. I hope I can repay you now and I'm sure I will."
Grealish will wear the No. 18 shirt at Everton. City's departed 10 credited a former Manchester United icon with the influence for this decision. "There were other numbers but my two favourite English players ever are Wayne Rooney and Paul Gascoigne and I know they both wore number 18 here," the Birmingham-born forward revealed.
"So, as soon as I knew this deal was close, I had a look and number 18 was free, so that was perfect for me and it was the only number I was going to take from that point.
"I spoke to Wayne [Rooney] before I came here," Grealish added, "and I mentioned that to him -- about the number 18 -- so I hope he's happy as well!"