Everton have a decision to make over Jack Grealish after his foot injury.
The England international is facing three months on the sidelines due to a stress fracture, and is in a race against time to feature again for Everton this season with only 15 games remaining.
Everton have an option to buy Jack Grealish from Manchester City for £50m in the summer – but a decision on that clause may have already been made as the Toffees now enter talks to sign Wesley Gassova.
Everton LEAD the race to sign Wesley Gassova from Al-Nassr 🇧🇷
Do we really need a winger over a full-back or striker? 🤔
Wesley Gassova talks suggest Everton are exploring Jack Grealish alternatives
£50m seemed like a steep price to pay even before the 30-year-old suffered his foot injury, given his age and consequent lack of resale value. In truth, even £30m would be a lot for a player approaching his 31st birthday and also one coming off the back of a broken foot.
Now, with Everton in talks to sign Wesley from Al-Nassr, it could be argued that alternatives to Grealish are being explored.
The Brazilian predominately plays on the left wing like the Aston Villa academy graduate, making 57 appearances on that flank throughout his career so far according to Transfermarkt.
It is particularly interesting to see Everton open talks for Wesley just days after Grealish broke his foot, mainly given the fact they play in the same position.
Al-Nassr splashed £20m to sign the 20-year-old from Corinthians back in August 2024, so assuming Everton pay a similar price, we highly doubt over £30m will be spent to land Grealish on a permanent basis as well.
Everton could sign Jack Grealish on a free transfer if Manchester City struggle to sell
At the end of this season, Grealish will only have 12 months remaining on his contract at the Etihad Stadium.
That is another reason why Everton would be fools to spend over £30m on a permanent deal, and depending on how much interest Manchester City receive, it is not entirely out of the equation that his contract is terminated – in our view at least.
Just look at Raheem Sterling and Chelsea. The west Londoners failed to find a buyer for the England international last summer after freezing him out, and have continued paying his extraordinary £325,000-a-week wages for him to simply waste away in the reserves.
Chelsea are now expected to terminate his contract this month and pay the 31-year-old off.
Would you even pay £30m for Jack Grealish? 🫣
Grealish earns a similarly high salary at Manchester City in the region of £300,000-a-week.
The Citizens will surely be keen to avoid a situation like the one involving Sterling, so if no buyer presents themselves this coming summer, we believe Manchester City could potentially buy Grealish out of his contract, potentially giving Everton a route to sign him on a free transfer.
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