Barcelona have reportedly rejected Manchester City’s “offer” for Jack Grealish, and they are working hard for the England international to end a lengthy stay at the Etihad late in the January transfer window.
Grealish, who joined City for a club-record €117 million from Aston Villa in the summer of 2021, has started in just six Premier League games this season and following the arrival of Omar Marmoush from Eintracht Frankfurt this month, the pressure to get him to pack his bags is believed to be mounting.
Grealish was already struggling to get game time before the Egyptian arrived, thanks to Phil Foden, Savinho, Bernardo Silva and Jeremy Doku all being preferred to him being Erling Haaland in the striker positions.
“Savinho is in better shape and everything than Jack,” Guardiola said when asked why Grealish is at the bottom of City’s rankings earlier this month. “I want Jack who won the treble,” he added.
According to reports in Spain, Grealish has “completely lost Guardiola’s confidence” and has now been “completely exposed to his poor performances”.
Grealish is now ‘seeking a way out’ of Manchester City, and the club bosses are said to have ‘offered’ the England international to Barcelona. Unfortunately for City and Grealish, the Catalans don’t fall into the trap this time around.
The report details Barcelona’s poor record of signing players from the Premier League giants, with only Ilkay Gundogan – who spent just one season at the Nou Camp – “showing a really convincing level”.
Eric Garcia is “a candidate to be transferred in the summer”, Sergio Aguero resigned shortly after joining Barcelona, while the £50 million the club spent on Ferran Torres “has never been justified”, with the Spanish international “one of the first sales” sporting director Deco is looking to make at the end of this season.
Jack Grealish is reportedly under consideration at two major European clubs.
After helping his team complete a historic treble in the 2022/23 season, the winger has fallen out of favour at City, which has led to him getting significantly fewer minutes this season.
Several of the biggest clubs across Europe have reportedly noticed his lack of game time, and are now set to test City’s determination as they consider making a move for the Englishman.
So far this season, Grealish has only made 21 appearances for City in all competitions, and many of them have been as a substitute.
This has led to several clubs in the Premier League registering their interest in signing the 29-year-old, with reports suggesting that former club Aston Villa are interested, along with Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur and City’s local rivals Manchester United.
While Barcelona are out, Inter Milan and Borussia Dortmund have both started to keep a close eye on his current situation.
Should his lack of minutes with the English champions continue, the two European giants will reportedly consider starting a hunt for the winger when the transfer window reopens in the summer.
However, he seemed to acknowledge the recent rumors with a post on his Instagram story, sharing a photo of a quote that reads, “Character is how you treat those who can’t do anything for you.”