Sunderland Pursue Jack Grealish Loan from Manchester City
Sunderland are making a late move to prise Jack Grealish away from Manchester City, with a loan deal the preferred route as the winger enters the final year of his contract.
The Black Cats want the 30-year-old to spearhead a rebuild in the wide areas and are exploring both a temporary switch and a permanent transfer. The appetite at the Stadium of Light is clear: add proven quality out wide before the window closes.
Grealish spent last season on loan at Everton and the Merseyside club remain in the conversation, still interested in bringing him back. For now, though, he is a squad option at City, used from the bench in the Community Shield defeat to Arsenal and again in their Premier League opener against Bournemouth.
City’s wing dilemma
City’s stance is complicated by their own shortage in wide forward positions.
Savio and Omar Marmoush have both been sold to Tottenham. Savio has already completed his move, while Marmoush is in the final stages of his switch, leaving Enzo Maresca suddenly light in natural wide players.
Jeremy Doku’s calf injury has tightened the squeeze. The Belgian is expected to miss two to three weeks, trimming Maresca’s options even further at a time when the season is only just beginning.
City are set to bring in 22-year-old Brazilian Allan from Palmeiras as a replacement for Savio, but that deal is not yet done. They are also looking closely at Cody Gakpo at Liverpool as they assess further attacking reinforcements.
Right now, Maresca has only two senior out-and-out wingers: Antoine Semenyo and Grealish. Phil Foden and Rayan Cherki can operate out wide, but both are often used in central roles, making City’s decision over Grealish’s future more delicate.
Sunderland’s wider winger hunt
Grealish is not the only wide player on Sunderland’s radar.
The club are also pushing to sign Igor Paixao from Marseille. Regis Le Bris’ side have lodged a firm bid for the Brazilian this week, with talks ongoing. Leeds tried to land Paixao last summer before he chose Marseille, but the French club now need to raise funds, and Sunderland see a winger as their top priority.
They have also spent weeks in negotiations with Sporting Lisbon over Mozambique international Geny Catamo. The 23-year-old has a £51.4m release clause at the Portuguese club, a figure that underlines both his value to Sporting and the scale of the decision facing Sunderland’s hierarchy.
Busy summer at the Stadium of Light
While the search for wide players continues, Sunderland’s summer business has already been extensive.
Arrivals:
- Dayann Methalie from Toulouse for £25.7m
- Jules Ahoka from Royal Antwerp for £8m
- Thomas Meunier from Lille on a free transfer
- Ethan Berry from Crystal Palace on a free
- Adam Nelson from Glentoran on a free
Departures:
- Eleizer Mayenda to Rennes for £22m
- Anthony Patterson to Wrexham for £10m
- Ahmed Abdullahi to Eyupspor, undisclosed
- Harrison Jones to Peterborough, undisclosed
- Zak Johnson to York, undisclosed
- Nazariy Rusyn to Karpaty Lviv, undisclosed
- Timothee Pembele to Le Havre, undisclosed
- Dennis Cirkin to QPR on a free
- Oliver Bainbridge to Boreham Wood on a free
- Tom Lavery to Gateshead on a free
- Dan Neil to Rangers on a free
- Rhys Walsh to Glentoran on a free
- Milan Aleksic to Partizan Belgrade on loan
- Matty Young to Huddersfield on loan
- Bertrand Traore released
- Niall Huggins released
Sunderland have reshaped their squad aggressively. The next question is simple and sharp: will they land the marquee winger to match that ambition, and will it be Jack Grealish walking out on Wearside in red and white?
