Jack Grealish transfer latest: Man City attacker urged to stay despite Everton agreement

Jack Grealish is “better off staying” at Manchester City than re-joining Everton on transfer deadline day, according to ex-Manchester United defender Gary Neville.

The Toffees are understood to have reached an agreement with the Citizens to bring Grealish back to Merseyside on another season-long loan deal, with his contract at the Etihad Stadium due to expire in June 2027.

Grealish, who is set to undergo a medical with Everton this morning, made a notable impression during the first half of last season on loan at David Moyes’s side, chipping in with two goals and six assists in 22 matches before sustaining a season-ending foot injury in January.

The 30-year-old was re-integrated into Man City’s first-team squad over the summer and featured as a substitute against Arsenal in the Community Shield and Bournemouth in the Premier League on the opening weekend of the new season.

The left-sided attacker was then left out of City’s squad for the 4-1 win at Crystal Palace, though, a strong indication that he is set to leave the club before the transfer window slams shut.

Premier League clubs, including Sunderland and boyhood side Aston Villa, have recently been linked with Grealish, but his preference is to return Everton.

Neville suggests Grealish should reconsider Everton transfer

However, Neville ‘strongly believes’ that Grealish may benefit more from staying at Man City rather than joining another club that is ‘not right’ for him and his career.

"If the club's not right that you're going to go to, definitely do not go,” the Sky Sports pundit said on the Gary Neville Podcast.

“I know it’s important to play football, but if you’re going to go to a club and they’re not going to get the best out of you, they’re not going to be stylistically right for you, then don’t do it.

"You're better off staying at Manchester City and playing 20 games and still looking like you're playing in a great side. Playing 20 good games rather than 35-40 games that basically make you look like you’re getting towards the end of your career.”

“I think about that quite a lot about players who play at the very top clubs. They’ve got that decision to make sometimes in their 30s, or maybe late 20s, whereby they’re thinking ‘well do I want to be playing every single week towards the end of my career, or do I want to play at what would be a lower standard, or do I want to play 25 games for a top-six club, playing every single week and rotating a little bit’.

"I would always go for the [last] bit, and I did. The last three years of my career I was more than happy to play [around 25 to 30 games] and I was playing in a winning team. I was playing in a team that was challenging for the title. I was playing in a team with great players, in front of a great crowd, at a club I wanted to play at in a city I wanted to live in. All those things had to be right for me to move elsewhere.

Is Grealish ‘better off staying’ at Man City?

“I get that some lads do want to play. The most important thing [for them] is, no matter where they play, they have to play. But I think for Jack, he’s got to be surrounded by the players who are in sync with him, who are on the same level of thinking, and that’s only going to be at a smallish selection of clubs in England.

“City are a brilliant football team, so if he can be a substitute and contribute in Carabao Cup, FA Cup games, the odd Premier League game and he’s getting 20 to 25 matches, I would say Jack is better of living in that environment than going to play for a team in the bottom five or six where he’s going to be frustrated every week and he’s getting the ball every 15 minutes and he’s basically playing left-back most of the game because he’s having to follow the right-back of a better team.

"He's better off staying at Manchester City. I strongly believe that."

Grealish can become regular for European-chasing Everton

Both Moyes and Everton supporters will be keen to point out that the Toffees are aiming much higher than a ‘bottom five or six’ finish this season; they finished 13th in the Premier League last season and were contenders for European qualification before a winless seven-game run at the end of the campaign.

If Grealish can stay fit, he is likely to play regularly for an ambitious Everton side and may be required to step up in the absence of Iliman Ndiaye, who has agreed to move in the opposite direction and join Man City in a deal worth £60m plus £5m in add-ons.

Everton have made an unbeaten start to the 2026-27 campaign, picking up four points from their first two games against Crystal Palace (2-0 win) and Bournemouth (1-1 draw).

Should Grealish finalise his move back to the Toffees before the deadline, he could be available to play in Sunday’s top-flight showdown with Man United at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.