Jack Grealish sends passionate message to Erling Haaland as Man City exit nears
Erling Haaland will be front and centre of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City plans next season but the same can’t be said for Jack Grealish.
Pre-season is yet to get underway at the Etihad Stadium after Man City‘s last campaign was extended by their involvement in the Club World Cup, which ended earlier than expected against Al-Hilal on 30 June.
Man City’s shock 4-3 loss in the last 16 does give them more time to prepare for the new season, but Guardiola was forced to watch on enviously as Chelsea won the title and collected an £80million windfall.
City have sold over £45million worth of talent this summer to help make up for that disappointment, but further departures are expected and Grealish leads a lengthy list of out-of-favour players at the Etihad.
Grealish celebrates ‘brother’ Haaland amid Man City exit talk
Grealish was one of several big-names left out of Man City’s Club World Cup squad in a clear indication that he isn’t part of Guardio’a’s plans, and numerous Premier League clubs are in the hunt to sign him.
Football Insider recently revealed that Man City are ready to bide their time when it comes to Grealish’s future this summer and could yet drop their price tag, with a loan more likely than a permanent transfer.
Grealish therefore remains a Man City player for the time being and posted on Instagram (21 July) to wish Haaland a happy birthday after Guardiola’s new vice-captain turned 25 years old on Monday.
Posting on his Instagram story, Grealish said: “Happy birthday brother – one of the best human(s)”.
Man City decision beckons amid Grealish uncertainty
Football Insider Verdict
Grealish is far from the only big-money signing expected to be let go at a huge loss by Man City this summer, with Kalvin Phillips even likelier to depart after making next to no impact at the Etihad.
Academy players like Issa Kabore, Luke Mbete and Callum Doyle also look set to leave Man City within the next few weeks, as Guardiola delivers on his promise to cut his squad down to an appropriate size.
The £112million spent on Rayan Cherki, Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Ait-Nouri before the Club World Cup showed that City mean business in this summer’s window, but a huge part of that business is moving the likes of Grealish on to pastures new.