Sunderland's Ambitious Late Move for Jack Grealish
Sunderland are attempting an ambitious late move for Manchester City winger Jack Grealish as they look to inject proven quality into their wide areas before the window shuts.
The Black Cats want the 30-year-old on loan, with Grealish now into the final year of his City contract. A straight loan is the preferred route, but a permanent transfer is also on the table as the club weigh up how aggressively to attack this market.
Grealish spent last season on loan at Everton, where he did enough to keep the Merseyside club interested. They remain in the conversation for his signature, but Sunderland are pushing hard and see him as a potential headline arrival.
His situation at City is delicate. Enzo Maresca has used him only from the bench so far this season – in the Community Shield defeat to Arsenal and in the Premier League opener against Bournemouth – yet the champions are suddenly light in wide areas.
City have agreed to sell Savio and Omar Marmoush to Tottenham. Savio has already completed his move, while Marmoush is in the process of finalising his switch. On top of that, Jeremy Doku has picked up a calf injury that will rule him out for two to three weeks.
For now, Maresca is left with just two senior, natural wide forwards: Antoine Semenyo and Grealish.
Phil Foden and Rayan Cherki can both operate out wide and have done so regularly, but Maresca often prefers them in central roles, which tightens the squeeze on his flanks.
City are moving to address the problem. They are set to sign 22-year-old Brazilian winger Allan from Palmeiras as a replacement for Savio, though that deal is not yet complete. Cody Gakpo at Liverpool is also on their radar as they consider further attacking additions.
Until reinforcements arrive and are signed off, City’s willingness to let Grealish leave – on loan or permanently – remains the key question in Sunderland’s pursuit.
Sunderland’s winger hunt widens
Grealish is not the only wide player Sunderland are chasing.
Regis Le Bris has made it clear he wants more threat from the flanks, and Sunderland have firm interest in Igor Paixao at Marseille. The club submitted a bid for the Brazilian earlier this week as talks continue between the two sides.
Marseille need to raise funds, which gives Sunderland encouragement, and a winger remains the club’s priority position. Leeds tried to sign Paixao last summer before he chose to move to France, and Sunderland are now attempting to succeed where the Yorkshire side failed.
At the same time, Sunderland have spent weeks in negotiations with Sporting Lisbon over Mozambique winger Geny Catamo. He has a £51.4m release clause, a figure that underlines how highly Sporting value him and how complex any deal could become.
The picture is clear: Sunderland want at least one winger, ideally two. Grealish, Paixao, Catamo – three different profiles, one obvious objective.
Busy summer at the Stadium of Light
Le Bris has already overseen a significant reshaping of his squad.
- Sunderland have brought in Dayann Methalie from Toulouse for £25.7m
- Jules Ahoka from Royal Antwerp for £8m
- Thomas Meunier has arrived from Lille on a free
- Ethan Berry joining from Crystal Palace and Adam Nelson from Glentoran, both also on free transfers
Several players have departed. Eleizer Mayenda has gone to Rennes for £22m and goalkeeper Anthony Patterson has joined Wrexham for £10m. Ahmed Abdullahi has moved to Eyupspor for an undisclosed fee, with Harrison Jones heading to Peterborough and Zak Johnson to York, also undisclosed.
Nazariy Rusyn has left for Karpaty Lviv, Timothee Pembele has joined Le Havre, and Dennis Cirkin has signed for QPR on a free. Oliver Bainbridge (Boreham Wood), Tom Lavery (Gateshead), Dan Neil (Rangers), Rhys Walsh (Glentoran) and Bertrand Traore have all departed, the latter being released.
Milan Aleksic has gone on loan to Partizan Belgrade, while Matty Young has joined Huddersfield on loan.
It has been a summer of churn. The next move, though, could define the window. If Sunderland can prise Grealish away from Manchester City and land at least one of Paixao or Catamo, the entire complexion of their season changes in an instant.
