{"id":22790,"date":"2026-02-09T23:27:52","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T23:27:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/2026\/02\/09\/everton-learn-fresh-twist-in-30-year-old-pursuit-as-ex-chief-speaks-out-what-should-the-toffees-do\/"},"modified":"2026-02-09T23:27:52","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T23:27:52","slug":"everton-learn-fresh-twist-in-30-year-old-pursuit-as-ex-chief-speaks-out-what-should-the-toffees-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/2026\/02\/09\/everton-learn-fresh-twist-in-30-year-old-pursuit-as-ex-chief-speaks-out-what-should-the-toffees-do\/","title":{"rendered":"Everton Learn Fresh Twist In 30-Year-Old Pursuit As Ex-Chief Speaks Out: What Should The Toffees Do?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>Manchester City might have to drop their asking price by quite a bit. They need to do this if they want to sell Jack Grealish to <a href=\"https:\/\/the4thofficial.net\/category\/leagues\/english-premier-league\/everton\/\">Everton<\/a> permanently this summer. Keith Wyness, the former chief executive at Everton, spoke about the situation on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.footballinsider247.com\/keith-wyness-everton-will-get-deal-done-for-jack-grealish-and-the-fee-will-be-a-surprise\/\">Football Insider Inside Track podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Manchester City Face Transfer Fee Blow as Grealish Injury Derails Everton Loan Spell<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>He says the Premier League giants have to give ground on their valuation. This comes after the winger broke a bone in his foot. Wyness ran things at Goodison Park from 2004 to 2009. He still thinks a deal can happen despite this setback. Right now, the Toffees are paying wages for a player who cannot get on the pitch. Even so, Wyness reckons a refreshed Grealish could be worth a lot next season. That depends on everyone agreeing to cheaper terms.<\/p>\n<p>This injury puts both the player and the club in a tough spot. Grealish is 30 now. This long recovery pretty much wipes out his 2025\/26 season. It also ruins his chances of playing for England at the next World Cup in North America. Manager David Moyes is stuck without his best creative player during a massive run of games. Still, the conversation is already shifting toward the summer transfer window.<\/p>\n<p>He told Football Insider\u2018s Inside Track podcast:<em> \u201cI still believe that Jack will come and sign with Everton next year. I think City will have to reduce considerably the fee that they\u2019re looking at.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cI think he will have to reduce his wages. And Everton, of course, are taking the loss right now. But in the end, I think a fit Jack next year, you know, refreshed. And we\u2019ve got to think about this. When\u00a0he was at City, he didn\u2019t really play a big role in the last couple of seasons he was there.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cSo, you know, he is not overworked in terms of his body as such for his age. So he\u2019s still got some freshness left in those big calves. So let\u2019s see if we can get something done, and hopefully, he gets fit. The main thing is he gets fit, and he gets his foot sorted out.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cIt is a difficult injury, stress fractures, and it will take time. So yes, think a good pre-season and getting back in for next year, but I think there\u2019ll be ways to get the financial deal done, but everybody\u2019s going to have to take that big cut.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Should the Toffees sign him permanently?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_343941\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-343941\"><img data-lazyloaded=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/the4thofficial.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/aston-villa-v-everton-premier-league-4-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Everton Learn Fresh Twist In 30-Year-Old Chase\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1711\" srcset=\"https:\/\/the4thofficial.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/aston-villa-v-everton-premier-league-4-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/the4thofficial.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/aston-villa-v-everton-premier-league-4-300x201.jpg 300w, https:\/\/the4thofficial.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/aston-villa-v-everton-premier-league-4-1024x685.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/the4thofficial.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/aston-villa-v-everton-premier-league-4-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/the4thofficial.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/aston-villa-v-everton-premier-league-4-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/the4thofficial.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/aston-villa-v-everton-premier-league-4-1536x1027.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/the4thofficial.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/aston-villa-v-everton-premier-league-4-2048x1369.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/the4thofficial.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/aston-villa-v-everton-premier-league-4-628x420.jpg 628w, https:\/\/the4thofficial.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/aston-villa-v-everton-premier-league-4-1256x840.jpg 1256w, https:\/\/the4thofficial.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/aston-villa-v-everton-premier-league-4-600x401.jpg 600w, https:\/\/the4thofficial.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/aston-villa-v-everton-premier-league-4-696x465.jpg 696w, https:\/\/the4thofficial.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/aston-villa-v-everton-premier-league-4-1392x931.jpg 1392w, https:\/\/the4thofficial.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/aston-villa-v-everton-premier-league-4-1068x714.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/the4thofficial.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/aston-villa-v-everton-premier-league-4-1920x1284.jpg 1920w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-343941\">BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND \u2013 JANUARY 18: Jack Grealish of Everton in action during the Premier League match between Aston Villa and Everton at Villa Park on January 18, 2026 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Clive Mason\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>City\u2019s contract setup makes things even harder. The midfielder is down to the last 12 months of his deal at the Etihad. Because of that, the club do not have much power in negotiations. Asking for the \u00a350 million fee they originally wanted isn\u2019t realistic while the player is still recovering from surgery.<\/p>\n<p>This means Everton are in the driving seat. Wyness is right that Grealish will have to take a pay cut, too. That is the only way to make a permanent move work. His huge salary is a massive problem for a club trying to follow profit and sustainability rules.<\/p>\n<p>Looking at the football side of things, a permanent signing makes a lot of sense. Grealish was brilliant at Goodison before he got injured. He showed he still has what it takes to break down tough defences. His legs might be fresh, like Wyness says, but his injury history is a worry.<\/p>\n<p>Everton could try to work out a deal based on performance with a low upfront cost. If they pull that off, getting the Englishman back permanently would be a massive win for Moyes. But the Toffees cannot afford to take a big risk. Spending a fortune on an older player with fitness issues just isn\u2019t an option.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Manchester City might have to drop their asking price by quite a bit. They need to do this if they want to sell Jack Grealish to Everton permanently this summer. Keith Wyness, the former chief executive at Everton, spoke about the situation on the Football Insider Inside Track podcast. Manchester City Face Transfer Fee Blow [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13963,"featured_media":22791,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22790","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22790","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13963"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22790"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22790\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22791"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22790"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22790"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22790"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}