Jack Grealish's future may well have taken a fresh twist, with word on a private conversation the Manchester City star had with Pep Guardiola.
Grealish looked nailed on to leave end his four-year stint with City this summer having started just one Premier League in 2025.
He was overlooked in the FA Cup final defeat to Crystal Palace and was not included the Club World Cup squad - much to the disappointment of Erling Haaland.
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City's record £100 million signing has been heavily linked with a host of clubs, including former club Aston Villa, Newcastle, West Ham, Everton, Napoli and Bayer Leverkusen - with the Blues said to be determined to recoup £50 million.
However, there has not been much movement on Grealish's situation and he was back at the City Football Academy for first-team training earlier this week.
And according to a new report from The Observer, there was a conversation between Guardiola and Grealish when they both attended the recent Oasis reunion gig at Heaton Park.
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It's said they "spoke briefly and warmly" in the VIP area and "Grealish came away from the conversation wondering if the best place to be might well be where he is now" - contemplating whether it may be in his best interests to stay at the Etihad Stadium.
Grealish has already turned down offers to leave Man City
The report from Rory Smith notes that it was Grealish's call to stay behind and not go to the Club World Cup to decide his future.
He still has an offer on the table to reunite with Kevin De Bruyne at Napoli but turned down approaches to play in Turkey.
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Speaking about Grealish's lack of minutes after leaving him out of the final game of the season against Fulham, Guardiola said: "Of course, Jack has to play. He’s an unbelievable player that has to play football every three days. It didn’t happen this season and last season either. He needs to do it, with us or another place.
“It’s a question for Jack, his agent and the club. If he stays it will be fine and he will fight like he fought from day one to make a contribution, but not today.
“It’s nothing personal with Jack. I’m the person who fought for him to come here and the person who fought for him to stay here this season. I’m the one who said I want Jack Grealish. What happens in the future is a job for Txiki (Begiristain), Hugo (Viana) and the agents.”
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Grealish's £300,000-a-week contract runs until 2027 but he would almost definitely have to take a significant pay cut in order to move on.
Topics: Jack Grealish, Manchester City, Pep Guardiola
Josh Lawless