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Manchester City star Jack Grealish has been training with the Blues as he waits for a club to come and make an offer for him
Signing Jack Grealish either on loan or a permanent deal this summer is a gamble. You can try and reduce the risk by putting in a low offer and asking for Manchester City to contribute to his wages, but it is still a gamble.
Everton have reportedly opened talks with the Blues over a move to sign the winger on loan deal. Grealish is a player who has simply not been good enough or consistent enough for the last two seasons at the Etihad, which makes three out of his four years at the club. The 29-year-old has a point to prove, but the same was true last summer when he was controversially left out of the England squad for the European Championship and he didn't make it count.
Nevertheless, there has been a terrific player in there. Even if you discard the mythical nonsense people like to believe happened at Aston Villa, Grealish has shown on plenty of occasions that he can be the man to make a Treble-winning side tick.
His best spell obviously came in the the second half of the 2022/23 campaign, but even last year it was his bit of magic that saw City unlock Real Madrid before another injury forced him to contemplate another what-might-have-been. Alongside the risk for interested parties, there is high reward.
There is also an undeniable star quality about Grealish that few footballers in the game possess. You see it every week up and down the country where he is targeted for boos during the game from the same opposition fans who are desperate for him to sign their shirts and take selfies with them before and after it.
It was also in evidence at the City Football Academy on Tuesday, where the players were introduced individually onto the pitch for training. It felt like Phil Foden, Erling Haaland, and Rodri were the only players to get a bigger reception from the thousands that had attended the session than Grealish.
Despite not playing well enough for two years, Grealish got more cheers than all of the new signings City have made and a good chunk of the rest of the squad. It shouldn't make sense and yet it happened and it can't be said to particularly be a surprise.
It can't be that Grealish is loved for what he has given to City because every player in the squad has done the same if not more, but speaks to the mercurial appeal that he has as one of the superstars of the game. Fans, and especially young fans, just love him.
That doesn't mean he is going to find his best form on the pitch, but it significantly adds to the appeal for any clubs looking to make an offer this summer for a player Pep Guardiola has been clear he doesn't want. Anyone who can get anything like the best out of Grealish again will immediately make themselves more popular with their fans because of how much love there is out there for the player from supporters who are desperate for him to do well.
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