Sunderland Pursue Bold Jack Grealish Loan from Man City

Sunderland are pushing for one of the most eye‑catching moves of the window, holding talks with Manchester City over a loan deal for Jack Grealish, according to David Ornstein of The Athletic.

The discussions go beyond a simple season-long stay. The clubs are working on a potential option to buy next year, when the midfielder’s contract at the Etihad Stadium is due to expire. Sunderland also want City to keep paying a portion of his wages to make the deal viable.

It would mark a dramatic change of scenery for a player signed as a superstar and a record buy. City paid around €117 million to bring Grealish from Aston Villa in 2021. He has since collected multiple Premier League titles and lifted the Champions League in 2023, racking up 159 appearances for the club.

The medals kept coming. The minutes did not.

Grealish’s role has steadily shrunk over the past year. Enzo Maresca does not view him as a regular starter and has only used him twice this season – in the Community Shield against Arsenal and in the home league match against Bournemouth. Before that, Pep Guardiola repeatedly stressed that leaving him out was a football decision, not a personal one, but the pattern was clear: Grealish was sliding down the pecking order.

That drop in status has long fuelled expectations that he would leave City, either on loan or permanently. Sunderland are now trying to turn that expectation into an opportunity.

Last season, the technically gifted midfielder spent the campaign on loan at Everton. He produced two goals and six assists in 22 matches, showing flashes of his creativity and ball-carrying before a stress fracture in his foot in January cut his season short and sent him into rehabilitation.

Sunderland, ambitious and aggressive in this window, see a chance to plug that talent into their own project – provided City help bridge the financial gap.

And Grealish is not the only target.

Sky Sports report that Sunderland are also keen on Igor Paixão of Olympique Marseille and have already lodged a bid for the Brazilian. If they can land both, the shape of their attack – and perhaps their season – could change in an instant.