Everton agreed terms with Manchester City for Jack Grealish's return to Goodison Park on transfer deadline day, a deal worth €60 million plus performance add-ons that closes before the February window shuts. The midfielder, who left Everton's academy at 16 for Aston Villa, arrives at 30 on a contract through 2029. Medical scheduled for Thursday morning.
The Friedkin Group, which completed its Everton takeover in December for £400 million, structured the payment across three installments with €15 million deferred to summer 2027. City accepted the bid after Grealish started six Premier League matches this season and logged 412 minutes across all competitions. His £300,000-per-week wage at City drops to a reported £220,000 at Everton, still the club's highest earner above Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The deal includes a 20% sell-on clause favoring City and performance triggers tied to European qualification.
The signing marks Everton's first €50 million-plus outlay since Gylfi Sigurdsson in 2017 and signals the Friedkin Group's willingness to deploy capital before stadium debt service begins. Everton's new 52,888-capacity Bramley-Moore Dock stadium opens in August 2025 with £760 million in project financing that requires annual debt payments estimated near £45 million. The club's commercial team is negotiating a stadium naming rights deal expected to land between £15 million and £20 million annually, with Stake.com and Cazoo both circling. Friedkin, who also owns AS Roma, has installed Michael Emenalo as sporting director and backed Sean Dyche with £140 million in net spending across two windows.
Grealish's arrival adds a left-sided creator to a squad that ranks 16th in Premier League xG this season at 1.09 per match. Dwight McNeil has shouldered playmaking duties on the left, but Everton has completed just 58% of final-third passes under Dyche, third-worst in the division. Grealish logged 0.31 expected assists per 90 last season at City, down from 0.39 in his first campaign but still above McNeil's 0.22 this year. His profile fits Dyche's counterattacking structure, though his defensive workrate dropped to 1.4 tackles plus interceptions per 90 in 2024-25, his lowest rate since joining City.
The deal's timing forces Everton to offload before June to satisfy Premier League profit and sustainability rules. The club posted a £89.1 million loss for the 2023-24 season and faces a three-year assessment window closing this summer. Amadou Onana's £50 million sale to Aston Villa in August provided breathing room, but Grealish's amortized cost of €12 million annually plus wages adds €26 million to the P&L. Everton is fielding inquiries for Calvert-Lewin, who enters the final year of his contract in June, and Jarrad Branthwaite, valued internally above €80 million after Manchester United's failed €43 million bid last summer.
The Friedkin Group has hired Santander to explore minority investment options for Everton's commercial arm, targeting 10% to 15% stakes that could raise £60 million to £80 million before stadium opening. Potential bidders include Arctos Partners, which holds stakes in Liverpool and Fulham, and RedBird Capital, though RedBird's AC Milan commitments may limit bandwidth. The Friedkins are also restructuring Everton's scouting network to align with Roma's analytics infrastructure, a model that delivered Tammy Abraham for £34 million and Paulo Dybala on a free.
Watch for Everton's next PSR filing in March, which will clarify room for additional summer moves. Dyche's contract runs through 2026 with a one-year club option, and the Friedkin Group has interviewed multiple directors of football, including Tim Steidten at West Ham and Edu, recently departed from Arsenal. Grealish's medical and unveiling are set for Friday, with his first availability likely for Everton's February 8 home match against Brighton. The club has scheduled a press conference for Saturday at Finch Farm, where Grealish trained as a 15-year-old before Villa intervened with a scholarship offer.
The transfer leaves Manchester City with £167 million in outgoing fees this window after Joao Cancelo's £25 million move to Al-Hilal and James McAtee's £20 million sale to Brighton. Pep Guardiola is expected to reinvest in a left-back, with Wolves' Rayan Ait-Nouri the leading target at £38 million.
The takeaway
Friedkin Group's first major signing adds creation but tightens Everton's PSR math before stadium debt service begins in 2026.
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