"Just for your information: I am still recovering from an injury and am therefore not yet back in training. I was not 'left out' - so stop talking sh****. Thanks," Grealish commented on an Instagram post by ESPN UK, which claimed that Grealish and Kalvin Phillips had been left out of City's pre-season tour of Asia, which has just begun.
That is true for Phillips, who is reportedly on the verge of another loan move to Championship side Sheffield United. It is not the case for Grealish. The post has since been deleted.
For now, Grealish is back in Manchester, after spending last season on loan at Everton. Whether the attacking midfielder, whose contract expires in 2027, still has a future at City remains unclear.
Jack Grealish has been out with a broken foot since January
As he stressed himself, Grealish has missed the Asia tour because of the after-effects of the broken foot he suffered in January. The England international has not yet been able to return to team training and is still working his way back.
At his official unveiling last week, City's new manager Enzo Maresca, who has replaced the departed Pep Guardiola, left the door open for Grealish. "Jack is here at the moment and is a Manchester City player. At every club I go to, I always say: as long as a player belongs to the club, it is my duty to try to coach him," Maresca said. The Italian had already worked as an assistant coach at City in 2022/23 and knows the England international well: "He has a big heart and is really a great guy. We will see what happens," said the Italian coach.
Getty ImagesBack in 2021, Grealish joined the Sky Blues from Aston Villa for what was then a record fee of 117.5 million euros, surpassed only this summer by new signing Elliot Anderson (135 million euros). He was a regular starter at times and played his part in the Treble in 2022/23, including the Champions League triumph. But Grealish never truly lived up to the huge expectations that came with that fee.
Will Manchester City loan Jack Grealish to Everton again?
After featuring less and less in 2024/25, Grealish joined Everton on loan last summer, where he became a regular and rediscovered his form. At one stage, he even started to believe he could force his way back into the national team and play for England at the 2026 World Cup. Then the broken foot ended that dream in January, and Grealish has not played since.
Where he goes next is unclear. A realistic future at City looks a long way off, while another loan to Everton reportedly seems likely, if the Toffees are willing to keep covering large parts of his wages of around 350,000 euros per week. City could also look to sell their former record signing and recoup at least a small part of the fee they paid in 2021. Next year, Grealish could ultimately leave the English runners-up for free when his contract expires.