Jack Grealish has several good friends at Everton.
The England international has already named Jordan Pickford as his closest pal at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, also mentioning Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Jake O’Brien as players he gets on well with.
Everton were hoping to sign another player close to Jack Grealish in Tammy Abraham – but the Roma striker has now made a decision which is surely going to upset his friend.
Tammy Abraham rejects chance to reunite with Jack Grealish by choosing Aston Villa over Everton
The Times believe Everton want Abraham – but the England international is prioritising a return to Aston Villa as he prepares to leave Roma.
Would you even pay £30m for Jack Grealish? 🫣
That will presumably sadden Grealish, who forged a close bond with the man currently on loan at Besiktas during their days together at Villa Park.
The pair have previously been on holiday together, with the Everton No.18 calling Abraham his “brother” in a now-expired Instagram story.
Abraham even rejected a Premier League move to Wolves to stay at Aston Villa in the Championship because of Grealish, who lied about his return from injury to keep the forward as a teammate. He said in May 2019: “Tammy was close to leaving in January and he kept saying to me, when are you going to be back?
“I had to keep lying to Tammy and saying I would be back by the end of January, when really I knew in my head I wouldn’t be back until March. I just wanted to get the window out the way, so he ended up staying.”
The feeling is mutual, as Abraham has previously said about Grealish: “He is such a good leader as well. For us it is a massive bonus to have someone like Jack in the team. I don’t think he ever runs out of breath – he keeps going. He always believes and tries to encourage everyone – even until the last minute.
“It is always nice to have that behind you.”
With Grealish fading slightly at Everton – recording just two assists in his last 16 Premier League appearances – signing Abraham may have given him a new lease of life for the second half of the campaign.
Unfortunately, it now looks as if Aston Villa are set to secure his signature instead.
Everton are already working to sign an alternative in Youssef En-Nesyri
Nobody at Everton is lingering on Abraham’s decision, as plans are already in place to sign a different striker.
Reports in Turkey say Everton have bid for Youssef En-Nesyri and are keen to take the Morocco international on loan from Fenerbahce for the second half of the season.
How big of a risk is this for Everton? 😫
Scoring goals in Turkey is completely different to the Premier League…
The African striker himself is believed to be unsure about a move to England – largely due to the weather – but with Fenerbahce themselves open to a deal, this move could still happen.
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