Overview
- Manchester City left Grealish out of their Asia pre-season tour squad, a decision reported on Tuesday that the club linked to his ongoing individual recovery work.
- Manager Enzo Maresca has said he values his relationship with Grealish and will assess him when he is fit, but the tour omission is a strong operational sign that City may move him on.
- Grealish suffered a stress fracture in his left foot in January while on loan at Everton, underwent surgery and has not played since, delaying any chance to stake an early claim at City.
- Aston Villa’s loan signing of Alejandro Garnacho makes a Villa return less likely and leaves Everton or a transfer abroad as the clearest realistic options given reported wage and fee hurdles.
- Sources report City prefer a permanent sale rather than another loan and Grealish is into the final year of his contract, creating commercial pressure to resolve his future before the window closes.