Pep Guardiola has left the door open for Jack Grealish to stay at Manchester City but suggested the ideal solution would be for the England star to find a new club this summer.
Grealish, 29, was left out of Man City’s Club World Cup squad after a disappointing season at the Etihad Stadium.
The attacking midfielder, who cost City £100m back in 2021, struggled for game-time and contributed just one Premier League goal.
Grealish has been permitted to speak to other clubs and Guardiola has suggested it would be best for all parties if he moved on from Manchester City this summer.
‘He had a conversation between him and the club and they decided it was best [to stay behind],’ Guardiola said ahead of Man City’s opening Club World Cup fixture against Moroccan side Wydad.
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‘Jack is an exceptional player. The only reason why he didn’t play last season is of course my decisions. We decide that he has to play. The club was honest, he was honest.
‘We decide the best is to stay [behind] and have a place that he can feel like he can come back to be the player like he was in the year of the treble or all his career in Aston Villa.
‘The fact is in the last two seasons he didn’t play much minutes. He has to come back to play and have the butterflies in his stomach that he can play every three days, every three days and show again the quality he has.’
Asked directly if Grealish has a future at Man City, Guardiola added: ‘I don’t know.
‘Now we decide don’t come here and what happens I don’t know in the end. If we don’t find, he’s a player for Man City and he will be back.’
If he stays put, Grealish will face even more competition at Manchester City next season following the arrival of French playmaker Rayan Cherki from Lyon.
Grealish, for his part, is said to be open to a summer move, though his hefty wages could prove a stumbling block to potential suitors.
Man City’s Premier League rivals Tottenham have been installed as the bookmakers’ favourites to sign Grealish ahead of Serie A champions Napoli.
It was reported earlier in the month that Manchester City had placed a £40m price-tag on Grealish, which would mean taking a £60m loss.
Ex-Spurs winger David Bentley is keen to see Grealish arrive at the north London club, telling Oddschecker that he would help take striker Dominic Solanke to another level.
‘If you can bring Grealish in for the right price, I think he’ll thrive at Spurs on the left-wing,’ he said.
‘I can also see Dominic Solanke thriving with somebody like Jack Grealish on the wing , he could get double the goals with that quality service.’
Thomas Frank is keen to bring in some of his own signings after leaving Brentford to replace Ange Postecoglou as Tottenham manager.
Spurs have signed Kevin Danso and Luka Vuskovic so far this summer while turning Mathys Tel’s loan spell into a permanent transfer.
Frank is believed to be hoping to hijack Manchester United’s move for his former Brentford star Bryan Mbeumo after taking over at Tottenham, who finished just 17th in the Premier League last season but won the Europa League.
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