Everton CEO Angus Kinnear has spoken out on the possibility of Jack Grealish returning to the club, revealing the winger has 'fallen in love with the right shade of blue' but remains a Manchester City player. The 30-year-old spent last season on loan at Everton, scoring two goals and assisting six in 20 Premier League games before a season-ending foot injury in January.
Kinnear on Grealish's Future
In an interview with BBC Radio Merseyside, Kinnear confirmed the club has remained in contact with Grealish but stopped short of confirming a return to Hill Dickinson Stadium. 'Jack is a player we have remained in contact with. It was no secret that he decided to have his rehabilitation done here for the remainder of last season, when he didn't have to do that, he could have gone back to Man City,' Kinnear said.
He added: 'I think he is a player who has fallen in love with the right shade of blue but ultimately he is a Manchester City player at the moment, we need to respect that.' Kinnear noted that the treatment Everton gave Grealish during his spell allowed the club to broach a potential permanent stay. 'All I do know is that the supporters and the team embraced him, treated him as if he was one of our own, and that gave us a very good platform to have a longer term conversation with him,' he said.
Grealish's Return to Fitness
Grealish has since recovered from his injury and returned to City in the summer, meeting new boss Enzo Maresca. He came on at half-time in their 3-0 defeat to Arsenal in the Community Shield, marking his first appearance for the club in over a year. Kinnear expressed delight at seeing Grealish back on the pitch: 'The most important thing is he is back, he is fit, he had a very serious injury, he has worked really hard to get back from that so I was delighted to see that he got some minutes at the Community Shield at the weekend.'
Moyes Tight-Lipped on Potential Move
Everton have brought in five players this window, including wingers Brennan Johnson and Tyrique George, but manager David Moyes admitted to wanting more business done before the September 1 deadline. 'We're still needing quite a few players to add to the squad. I'd like to do more if possible, we need to see how the remaining few weeks go,' Moyes told Sky Sports.
When asked about the possibility of bringing Grealish back, Moyes was tight-lipped: 'No, not at the moment. It's not for me to talk, Jack's a player at Man City and I don't think it's right to talk about players at other clubs.' Moyes proved pivotal in Grealish's decision to join Everton last year, with the former England international saying one call with the Scotsman convinced him. Grealish previously said: 'I absolutely loved my time at Man City, I had a great four years there, won a lot of things. It just felt like it was time for a change and I have said it before, as soon as I spoke to the manager David Moyes on FaceTime, I knew this was the place I wanted to come.'
