Sunderland Pursue Jack Grealish Loan as City Considers Options
Sunderland are making a late move to prise Jack Grealish away from Manchester City, with a loan their preferred route but a permanent deal still firmly on the table.
The Black Cats want the 30-year-old winger to spearhead a rebuild in the wide areas as he enters the final year of his City contract. A temporary switch is the initial focus, yet the club are actively exploring the numbers behind a full transfer if the opportunity opens up.
They are not stopping at one marquee wide man either. Sunderland are also in talks with Marseille over Brazilian winger Igor Paixao, underlining just how aggressively Regis Le Bris wants to reshape his attack.
Everton factor, City’s shortage
Grealish spent last season on loan at Everton and the Merseyside club remain in the conversation. Their interest has not cooled, even as Sunderland step up their pursuit.
At City, Grealish has started the campaign on the fringes. Enzo Maresca has used him from the bench in the Community Shield defeat to Arsenal and in the Premier League opener against Bournemouth, but circumstances are tightening around the champions’ options out wide.
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. That double departure has stripped Maresca of two wide forwards in quick succession.
The timing is awkward. Jeremy Doku has picked up a short-term calf injury and is expected to miss two to three weeks, leaving City light in the wide areas just as the season gets going.
For now, Maresca has only Antoine Semenyo and Grealish as his recognised senior out-and-out wingers. Phil Foden and Rayan Cherki can operate there, but both are more naturally used in central roles.
City’s recruitment response
City are moving to plug the gaps. They are set to sign 22-year-old Brazilian Allan from Palmeiras as a replacement for Savio, although that transfer is not yet complete. They are also looking closely at Cody Gakpo at Liverpool as they weigh further attacking additions.
Any deal for Grealish will have to be balanced against that backdrop. Until Allan is over the line and City gain clarity on other targets, Maresca’s room to manoeuvre with his current wide players remains tight.
Sunderland’s winger hunt: Paixao and Catamo
On Wearside, the push for Paixao is gathering pace. Sunderland have a firm interest in the Marseille winger and submitted a bid earlier this week. Leeds tried to land him last summer before he chose to head to Ligue 1, but Marseille’s financial position has now opened the door.
Talks are ongoing. Marseille need to raise funds, and Sunderland’s priority is crystal clear: they want a winger, preferably two, before the window shuts.
Grealish and Paixao are not the only names on the list. Sunderland have spent weeks in negotiations with Sporting Lisbon over Mozambique international Geny Catamo. The 23-year-old has a release clause of £51.4m at the Portuguese club, a figure that underlines how complicated that pursuit could become.
Busy window on Wearside
The Grealish chase comes at the end of a summer in which Sunderland have already turned over a significant chunk of the squad.
Arrivals:
- Dayann Methalie from Toulouse for £25.7m
- Jules Ahoka from Royal Antwerp for £8m
- Thomas Meunier from Lille on a free
- 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 already spent heavily, sold well and cleared space in the squad. Now comes the decisive question of the window on Wearside: can they convince Jack Grealish to make the Stadium of Light his next stage?
