Sunderland's Ambitious Bid for Jack Grealish: A New Chapter Ahead
Sunderland have launched a bold bid to rescue Jack Grealish from his Manchester City limbo, tabling an ambitious loan offer that would see the Premier League champions continue to shoulder a large chunk of his wage bill.
The Athletic reports that the Black Cats have formally registered their interest in the 30-year-old, with a proposal that stretches well beyond a short-term fix. Built into the offer is an option to make the move permanent next summer, neatly aligned with the expiry of Grealish’s current deal at the Etihad Stadium.
If City agree, it would mark a dramatic turn in a career that once carried a £100m price tag and the weight of being a record signing. Now Grealish is searching for something more basic: regular football.
From Treble cornerstone to the fringes
Not long ago, Grealish sat at the heart of a historic side. In City’s 2022-23 Treble-winning season, he was a constant presence on the left flank, racking up 50 appearances as Pep Guardiola’s team swept through the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup.
That influence has faded at alarming speed.
By the 2024-25 campaign, his league role had shrunk to just seven starts. The decline hit its most brutal note when he was left out entirely for the final league game of the season against Fulham. Guardiola insisted the omission was “nothing personal”, but the message hardened when Grealish was then excluded from the squad for the Club World Cup.
This season has done little to change the picture. He has been used only from the bench in City’s opening fixtures, appearing as a substitute in the Community Shield defeat to Arsenal and again in the 2-1 Premier League win over Bournemouth on Sunday.
For a player who has made 159 appearances for City since arriving from Aston Villa in that landmark £100m move, the shift has been stark.
Everton spell cut short
Grealish’s search for rhythm had already taken him away from Manchester once. He spent last season on loan at Everton under David Moyes, where he showed flashes of his old influence: two goals and six assists in 22 appearances before a stress fracture in his foot in January ended his campaign early.
Everton had negotiated an option to buy the England international for around £50m. When the season ended, they walked away from the deal.
That decision has left Grealish at a crossroads, his future at City clearly uncertain. Reports in June had already indicated that the champions were ready to listen to both loan and permanent offers for their former record signing.
Sunderland’s Europa League statement
Into that uncertainty have stepped Sunderland, a club preparing for a Europa League campaign and eager to inject top-level experience into a promising squad.
Head coach Regis Le Bris wants proven quality to guide his side through the demands of continental football. Grealish, with Champions League nights and title races behind him, fits that brief.
He is not the only winger on their radar. Sunderland are also pushing to sign Igor Paixao from Marseille. Personal terms with the 26-year-old Brazilian, who struck 12 goals in Ligue 1 last season, are not expected to be a stumbling block, though the two clubs have yet to agree a fee.
The intent is clear. Sunderland are not treating Europe as a sightseeing tour.
Building a squad for Europe
The Grealish move sits within a broader, busy summer on Wearside.
Experienced full-back Thomas Meunier has already arrived to reinforce the defence, while youngster Dayann Methalie adds further depth at the back. In midfield, Jules Ahoka has been brought in to give Le Bris more variety and energy in the centre of the pitch.
Now Sunderland are aiming for a marquee attacking addition, one who only two years ago was central to the best team in Europe.
City’s openness to a deal has been known for months. Sunderland’s proposal, with its shared wage structure and built-in option to buy, tests just how far that willingness extends.
For Grealish, the question is sharper. Does he stay on the fringes of a superclub, or become the face of an ambitious Europa League side looking to punch above its weight?
