Jack Grealish will not be part of Man City’s pre-season tour of Asia.
Instead, the winger has been training alone in Mallorca, posting Instagram images from Real Mallorca’s training facility on Monday.
His omission isn’t, of course, anything to do with attitude or a snub — City say he’s still working back from the foot injury that cut short his Everton loan in January — but the timing keeps the question of his future firmly open.
Enzo Maresca has spoken positively about Grealish since arriving at the Etihad, though a first-team pathway under the new head coach remains unclear, especially given the targets on the City wish-list.
David Moyes addressed the situation before Everton’s final game of last season, calling Grealish “incredibly well liked” at the club while stopping short of anything more.
“Ultimately, he is not our player; he is Man City’s player,” he said.
That, obviously, is the complication. A big one.
Reports elsewhere suggest City are now reluctant to loan Grealish out a second time, and would instead want a fee for a player they signed for £100m in 2021.
If that’s accurate, any Everton return likely means a permanent deal rather than a straightforward repeat of last season’s arrangement — a different proposition altogether, and clearly a costlier one.
For now, Grealish trains apart from his City teammates as the transfer picture around him takes shape.
