Jack Grealish could be on the move after falling out of favour at Manchester City and a lot of clubs could benefit from his talents.
The 29-year-old attacking midfielder has spent the past four seasons at Etihad Stadium. But there’s a chance that 2024-25 was his last.
Pep Guardiola left him out of the squad for the Fifa Club World Cup in June and played just one minute in the Citizens’ final five matches, as a late sub against Bournemouth.
Maybe he’ll end up staying in Manchester, but it looks like he’s on the market – for now, at least. With that in mind, we’ve looked at a few clubs that could use his services.
Dream: Aston Villa
Ah, the good old fashioned reunion. Jack Grealish saw it all at Aston Villa, from being a ‘bad boy’ wonderkid at a struggling Premier League team, to getting relegated, maturing and then leading them back to the top flight before leaving for bigger things.
And even if things have turned sour lately, Grealish lived his dreams of playing and winning the Champions League with Man City. At 29 years old, he still has a lot left in the tank to help Aston Villa take that next step and start contending for trophies, rather than just being a fun team that upsets the giants every now and then.
Villa are in a great place under Unai Emery, and just happen to be lacking a quality attacking midfielder to play on the left, out wide or drifting inside. The right side looks sorted with Morgan Rogers developing rapidly and Leon Bailey as a back-up option.
In the opposite wing, though, things are different. Jacob Ramsey hasn’t shown enough to be a full-time starter, Emiliano Buendia has struggled fitness-wise and Samuel Iling Junior spent the last six months in the Championship.
Besides, Grealish could be the key to helping Ollie Watkins go back to his best self. If he stays at Villa, of course.
Realistic: Tottenham Hotspur
One has it, the other needs it. Jack Grealish to Tottenham Hotspur already makes sense in a vacuum with Son Heung-min announcing his imminent departure. Spurs are be in desperate need of talent.
There is enough room for Grealish and James Maddison to coexist and succeed, even if it might not look like the cleanest fit. The current Tottenham No.10 could probably benefit from playing in a more central area after an injury-riddled season in 2024-25, which would leave the whole left side all alone for the Man City outcast.
Tottenham are supposedly considering entering the race to sign Real Madrid’s Rodrygo. But the hefty price tag on the Brazilian could scare Daniel Levy away and convince him to look for talent elsewhere. The 2025 version of Grealish is nowhere near close to the £90 million Los Blancos reportedly want for Rodrygo and would be a cheaper alternative.
Spurs would also have an edge over Aston Villa in this scenario with Champions League football next season, rather than Thursday nights in the Europa League.
Wildcard: Fulham
Going to Fulham wouldn’t be a glamorous move for Jack Grealish, but it certainly makes a lot of sense.
Grealish was at his best at Aston Villa when elevating the ceiling of the team and having total freedom to dictate the play. Marco Silva’s men play a fun brand of football, but have lacked a player who is able to ask for the ball and bring all the responsibility to himself. That’s what made Grealish excel before his move to Man City.
The Cottagers have interesting players, but none of them are able to, almost single-handedly, take them to the next step and start contending for European football. Most of them are “specialists”, like target-man Raul Jimenez, set-piece masters Harry Wilson and Andreas Pereira, and powerful/tricky winger Adama Traore. Alex Iwobi also had a surprisingly good season.
Now imagine what they would be able to do if someone else came in and drew all the attention. Grealish would take the weight off their shoulders and take it all to himself — which is what he likes to do and does incredibly well.
Fulham aren’t known for spending a lot of money, but have only made one signing so far, bringing in back-up French goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte for a reported £500,000. If they want to make a big move, this could be their chance.
Squawka Suggests: Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund have had a ‘thing’ for Englishmen recently. Jude and now Jobe Bellingham, Jadon Sancho, Carney Chukwuemeka and the recently-departed Jamie Gittens.
With BVB fans growing increasingly frustrated with Julian Brandt over the last few seasons, Jack Grealish would present a similar profile. But he’d bring a lot more quality to slot in as a left-sided attacking midfielder or a wide centre-midfielder with freedom to go forward and orchestrate things.
It would also be a good balance with Karim Adeyemi, who has been mainily deployed as a right winger under Niko Kovac, but still carries some goalscoring instincts from his Red Bull Salzburg days.
Maximilian Beyer would be another “threat”, but Kovac apparently sees him more as a striker than the left forward role he used to play for Hoffenheim.
His boost of quality could also be enough to push the Germans back to title contention in what looks like a wide open Bundesliga again, with Bayern not as reliable as in times past and Leverkusen having lost their main players and manager recently.
Dortmund will also play in the Champions League in 2025-26 and would offer the chance for Grealish to reset completely in a new country and culture.