As Manchester City regrouped for the 2025-26 season, Jack Grealish, the embattled winger whose £100m move from Aston Villa in 2021 once set records, found himself in the spotlight not for his play but for a supportive gesture toward new teammate Rayan Cherki. On August 1, 2025, Grealish joined Phil Foden and Lucas Digne in liking Cherki’s Instagram post, captioned “We keep working” with a muscle emoji, showcasing the 21-year-old Frenchman’s training session at the City Football Academy. The post, filled with images of Cherki’s flair and focus, ignited excitement among City fans, but for Grealish, it was a bittersweet moment as his future at the Etihad Stadium hangs in the balance, overshadowed by the club’s bold transfer moves.
Cherki, signed from Lyon for £35m, arrived as a beacon of hope to fill the void left by Kevin De Bruyne’s departure to Napoli. His 2024-25 season stats—12 goals and 20 assists in Ligue 1, including a standout Europa League performance against Manchester United—have fans buzzing about his potential. “It’s happening,” Cherki teased after his France debut, where he scored a stunning volley and assisted a header, hinting at his imminent City move. His versatility as a winger or No. 10, paired with a two-footed dribbling style, makes him a natural fit for Pep Guardiola’s system, though some pundits, like Sam Tighe on the Transfer Talk Podcast, warn that Grealish’s struggles at City should caution Cherki about adapting to Guardiola’s structured approach.
Grealish’s reaction to Cherki’s post was a small but telling act of camaraderie. The 29-year-old, known for his infectious personality, has been a dressing-room favorite since his Treble-winning 2022-23 season, where he started the FA Cup final and earned praise as “impossible to play against” by Rio Ferdinand. Yet, his 2024-25 campaign was a nightmare, with just seven Premier League starts and a meager one goal and one assist. Excluded from City’s Club World Cup squad and benched for their final match against Fulham, Grealish admitted adapting to Guardiola’s style was “much more difficult” than anticipated. “Of course Jack has to play,” Guardiola said, acknowledging his talent but signaling a need for regular minutes elsewhere. City’s £115m summer spree on Cherki, Tijjani Reijnders, and Rayan Ait-Nouri has intensified competition, pushing Grealish toward the exit.
Interest in Grealish spans the Premier League and beyond. Everton, Newcastle, and Tottenham have been linked, with David Moyes at Everton eyeing him to bolster their attack, though his £300,000 weekly wages pose a hurdle. “The truth is we’re not getting a lot of the deals over the line at the moment,” Moyes admitted, hinting at a late-window move. Napoli, fresh off a Serie A title, see Grealish as a replacement for Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, with Antonio Conte a “big fan.” A return to Aston Villa, where he captained the side to promotion in 2019, stirs fan sentiment—“There is only one place for Jack… back at his rightful home,” one supporter posted—but Villa’s 91% wage-to-revenue ratio makes it unlikely. City, keen to trim their squad, prefer a £40m permanent sale but may settle for a loan, potentially subsidizing half his wages.
Cherki’s arrival, likened to Grealish by Florent Malouda for their “explosive” creativity, underscores the challenge Grealish faces. “The challenge for players like this is to adapt to a more structured way of playing,” Malouda told bet365, suggesting Cherki must balance flair with discipline. Cherki’s bold ambition to win the Ballon d’Or, inspired by Rodri’s 2024 success, and his vow to “kill” Manchester United after Lyon’s Europa League loss, have endeared him to City fans. Grealish, meanwhile, remains active on social media, liking posts from teammates like Erling Haaland and Ruben Dias, and sharing his own training update: “I’ll never get bored of training in this view.” His emotional exchange with fans at Oasis’ Heaton Park reunion gig—“I love City more than anything”—reveals his conflicted heart as he edges toward a shock move, seeking to reignite the spark that once made him England’s most expensive star.
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