Declan Rice responds to Jack Grealish’s ‘ready to go’ message as Man City exit looms
Declan Rice has responds to a heartfelt message from Manchester City outcast Jack Grealish as he prepares to leave the Etihad Stadium this summer.
Grealish is set to depart Man City ahead of the new season following a poor 2024/25 campaign that saw him struggle to nail down a spot in Pep Guardiola’s starting eleven.
The 29-year-old made just seven Premier League starts last term, and with a move away beckoning, Football Insider reported in June that Everton and Newcastle United are leading the race for Grealish’s services.
Man City chiefs are considering loaning Grealish out due to his high wages, despite him costing the club a whopping £100million [Sky Sports] when he joined from Aston Villa in 2021.
Newcastle are planning to accelerate their pursuit of Grealish soon, as revealed by Football Insider on 9 July, but a move is seemingly not imminent after Football Insider revealed that Grealish’s exit is unlikely to be confirmed until late in the window as Guardiola’s side are expected to lower their asking price for his services.
Grealish shares ‘ready to go’ message away from Man City
Grealish returned to pre-season training alone [The Mail] at City as he seeks a move away this summer, but he made sure to rest and recuperate prior to his return during his summer break.
The 29-year-old shared numerous pictures of him spending time with family and friends to his Instagram feed on Friday (25 July), along with a caption saying: “Wundaful long needed break with good people. Motivated and ready to go again.”
His heartfelt message earned a reply from England teammate Rice, who commeneted a blue heart emoji, while the likes of Josko Gvardiol, Ruben Dias, Jordan Pickford, James Maddison and Julian Alvarez were among those who liked his post.
Grealish should join Everton if he wants to stay in England
Football Insider verdict
It seems like an almost foregone conclusion that Grealish will be on his way out of the Etihad Stadium this summer, and his exit woes have been compounded by the arrival of Lyon playmaker Rayan Cherki at Man City, who is comfortable playing on either wing and at number 10.
His time under Guardiola has been one of both ups and downs over the years, but his last season certainly included more of the latter as he failed to make any sort of impact in either the Premier League or Champions League while City suffered a surprising downfall compared to their previous campaigns.
| Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| 157 | 17 | 23 |
The 29-year-old certainly still has a lot to offer, though, as he enters what should be his prime as a player, and he would surely be a good fit in David Moyes’ squad next season with attackers needed to bolster a lacking forward line that saw Everton end the last campaign with the fourth-least league goals scored as a team.
The Scottish boss is known to be a keen motivator of players who may be down on their luck, and so it is no surprise that Football Insider have also revealed that Grealish is “excited” by the prospect of playing for the Toffees as they move into the new Hill Dickinson Stadium for 2025/26.
Grealish is a target for Serie A champions Napoli, but the chance to stay based in the north-west of England with a decent-sized club like Everton is surely one that the former Villa man would jump at if the opportunity arises, but both he and the Toffees will hope that it is sooner rather than later if no other club wishes to sign him on a permanent deal.