The debate: Should Everton take a punt on Jack Grealish?

If I was a professional footballer, I wouldn't go anywhere near managers like Pep. He takes himself way too seriously because he's never had anyone correct his abysmal behaviour. I'd rather work for Dyche, at least he can crack a smile.

German: Nein

Spanish: No

French: Non

Italian: No

Portuguese: Não

Russian: нет (Nyet)

Chinese (Mandarin): 不 (Bù)

Japanese: いいえ (Iie)

Arabic: لا (Lā)

Hindi: नहीं (Nahin)

Dutch: Nee

Danish: Nej

Norwegian: Nei

Finnish: Ei

Greek: Ochi

Swahili: Hapana

Tagalog: Hindi

Another word for saying no, Don't touch him with a barge pole!

Waaaay past his best, never a hundred million pounds player, leave him where he is, I wouldn't have him on a free on £20.000 a week. I would actually rather have Jack Harrison.

I really think a striker needs to be priority though, even when (probably will be) DCL is on a new contract.

Diamond? — Sounds more like Plastic to me.

Real shame the way it's turned out/. Evertonia is the opposite, matchdays not much cop, TW far more interesting, but some decent well-written articles on Evertonia now and then.

Otherwise we've learned nothing.

Using the old adage, “If you haven't got anything good to say, say nowt!!!!!!!”

If this is the dirge that is going to be dished up, I'll be absent from here till the new season.

Also agree with other posters that there's too much crap content on the site and it's actually off-putting.

Michael was doing a good transfer round up each week which worked well.

Welsh: Nac oes
Wiganese: Nooooooooooooooooooor
Scouse: F**k Off
Hungarian: Nem
Kenwrightese: Like his acting!

Please forgive me my lack of language capabilities, in suggesting we don't sign what is now a has-been.

Even if Citue paid half his wages, that's still £150,000 a week. Surely Richarlson is a better bet.

Other than that, I'd have liked to have seen him in the middle as an attacker behind Beto with Ndiaye and McNeil on either side of him but no, the wages just make this too cost prohibitive.

Regarding Grealish, I'd take him all day long, his wages would have to be seriously reduced and if he could rediscover his Villa or early City form, he'd be a great signing,

But I certainly agree that wages etc mean it won't happen.

We all have opinions, and I'd put Grealish way ahead of Harrison, and Grealish played on the left, also out of position, but a lot more effective.

It probably won't happen anyway..

But it all depends on the deal.

Hardly anything to talk about otherwise.

Having said that, how did Shandy Andy get past the fit and proper footballer test?

But I can't believe anyone would seriously prefer Jack Harrison, one of worst players I've ever seen in an Everton shirt.

He was/is an absolute diamond of a footballer. Without Pep's straight jacket, playing with the freedom he did at Villa, to a packed Bramley-Moore Dock, he would be sensational.

IMO, If we found ourselves in a position to afford him and attract him, we'd be crazy not to.

It's not a debate, it's a desperate attempt to boost revenue and yes, I've been joining in up till now.

Gary's strength was being on the end of a well delivered set piece. Delivering one... not so much.

He is available though.

FFS... I'm in!

That's not my problem. I would defently have him. A great player.

Personally I think the chances of him agreeing to come to us are small, the chances of us agreeing a fee with Man City will be smaller, and the chances of us being able to agree terms with the man himself will basically make this a non-starter.

If we can overcome those obstacles, I'd have him in a heartbeat.

The chances of Dour Davey seeing Grealish as a 'must have' latter day James Rodriguez are slim to none. Always assuming that the lad himself would take a serious % paycut*

*A thing I can never get my head round, I mean struggling along on £100k a week it's not like – apart from a theoretical mathematical perspective – you or I taking a 50/ 60% drop in income. You're 30+ years old, mate, and on the way down – sorry, but the wages should reflect it.

He can't beat a man outside, can only pass back or sideways. Ray Wilkins reincarnated.

Grealish is not for us but there are others at a decent price and wages who may fit in here.

Actually he wouldn't, because he wouldn't join with the kind of wages we would offer. And I wouldn't suggest we should offer anything too exceptional for a player approaching 30.

He pisses about too much with the ball at his feet, rather than quick decision making and sharp passing.

He's quality. But I don't think he would suit us. He would think it's a step down and surely it would find him hard to gel with others.

We need a pacy wing option for each side. Grealish is a No 10 who has played out of position since leaving Villa.

A star at Asto Villa, didn't quite work out at Man City. No shame in that.

I'm not too concerned about wages, that's for the club to decide and negotiate.

I am just struggling to see how he fits in other than providing depth on top of Ndiaye, Alcaraz and McNeil. Maybe not a bad thing. Whether him or someone else, we need it in various areas.

Is he the right sided midfielder we need? I'm unsure, but I wouldn't be disappointed if this rumour (that's all it is), came off.

We'll know more by the end of the month once the remainder of the existing contracts are sorted out either way. That is probably the priority right now, because of the situation the new owners inherited.

Agree with Danny that he does not play in the position we need to strengthen. Between Alcaraz, Illi and McNeil we have a good core of players there and need 1 to 2 pacy wingers on both sides of the pitch, including an immediate starter on the right side and a rough diamond as a back up option to nurture.

I would now add a caveat that at 29 he would have to come at the right money and wages.He is not being regularly selected for Man City.

David #56

It has always been like this.I use to take a holiday over the Summer and come back the end of August.It is worse this year , because of the 10 day early transfer period and Everton with so many contracts finishing..Clubs are also pulling Players in the shop window via What's App groups , Social Media ,f and favoured Journalist,.i it not just click baiting journalist.

I hope Shakira never knocks on their door at around 10.00 pm asking to stay the night, because she'll be getting fucked right off.

This lad would get us off our seats and be a fan favourite within 2 games. Unfortunately will not happen due to our financial constraints, he'd be loved here.

We need to look at quality that hasnt been snaffled not superstar superwages, which is just plain stupid.
Thats what makes the difference at basement level.
Picking out gems like Illy.
Not the waves and waves of dross shabby agents have had us over with.

Beto does this as he stretches the game towards the goal and runs beyond.

N’Diaye and Grealish do the opposite and come towards the play.

So unless intended as a replacement for N’Diaye I would advise against spending the wages on this move and look elsewhere for a player with pace and an ability to finish / attack the box from midfield.

Secondly, speculation over Grealish is reasonable to write an article about. I thought a player of his talent who is out of sorts at City might work for Everton. Having read the article and considered however, it would be a no from me. He is a very good footballer and has had some great games for City. Winning the treble is hardly ‘underwhelming’, but he has clearly fallen out of favour with Guardiola (I don’t use his first name, he’s not my mate) and it sounds very much like that’s because of his fondness for being, to use Private Eye’s famous euphemisms ‘tired and emotional’ and for indulging in ‘discussing Ugandan affairs’. In short he’s a roustabout and it’s affecting his game. Lad probably has problems. He seems a nice young man but he’s not the brightest button in the box and we have to ask what advice and support is he getting? Either way, I don’t think Moyes would have any shrift with him. Plus Everton can’t afford his salary!

With players of this talent, you don't ask Where would he fit in? You ask How can we play around him?

I get the impresion he has felt like an 'outcast' at City for some time.

He is effectively being 'dumped' by them and that will give him a burning desire to show them what they are missing.

A talented player with 'something to prove' is always a good investment. Some are saying 'He's the wrong side of 30'... Really?... He's 29!

If he needs a bit of a rocket to show his best form, then being publicly embarrassed by City may be it.

BUT and it's a big but; for me the figures just don't add up. The very best we could pay would be half his existing wages, and someone, somewhere will pay more. There is better 'value' to be had elsewhere in the market.

If the figures did stack up, would I have him? Yes.

Whether its Grealish, Richarlison or somebody else, we will be using the Harrison, Lindstrom, Mangala, and Broja wages again in this space is my expectation - particularly when £130k Doucoure has left.

I for one would welcome a player of his calibre with open arms.

The financials however mean the chance of it happening must be close to 0%.

Finally, it’s hard to see why Grealish would be particularly interested in playing for us. Even if all parties could magic up a deal that worked financially, Grealish will probably have more glamorous offers.

Not dismissing the player - just dismissing the idea.

Wages are far too much and, like Dele and Rashford, he's lost his way recently

He might move abroad on loan.

As the new editor of TW, I'm happy to hear back feedback and/or content preferences and ideas as I get to grips with a new audience and site.

The Grealish question was asked as Everton are currently joint-favourites with the bookies to sign him. Whether it's feasible or not we will see!

Hoping to keep the community engaged and interested until the real stuff rolls back around...

I've also never caddied...

Chelsea supposedly paid half of Sancho's wages. If city are happy to pay 50% of Grealish, that's £135-150k a week. They could pay more.

Make it happen DM.

To be honest, I am overly defencivee of this site as I've been on it for 27 years, also, unfortunately, I am at the age where I take even the slightest change as a personal affront!!

ToffeeWeb has been a huge positive in my life and, as you can see, my decision to take a break for the summer lasted about 12 hours!

A friend of mine (a Liverpool supporter) wrote a guide to fansites over many years. He, reluctantly, came to the conclusion that ToffeeWeb was best by some distance. So, Harry, apologies for the whinging, welcome and good luck.

You're right to be defensive of the site, it's a great platform and one I'm looking forward to working on!

For context, standalone fan sites are fairly new to me, my experience over the last 10+ years has been multi-club channels, so bear with me!

Looking forward to getting to know the TW regulars.

Quite why nobody wants him is beyond me. Grealish is a fantastic player, way better than anyone in our squad.

He cost about £100m not so long ago. We should snap him up given the chance. All those free kicks in the final third?

I fail to see any downsides.

But it won't happen.

Dave (89), I've been in the industry for 10+ years, early experience included placements with The Guardian and AFC Fylde in non-league.

For the last seven years, I've been leading the content on The Football Faithful. Our content there goes out to the likes of Livescore, OneFootball and Yahoo Sport. I also published a book late last year under the brand.

Will do my best to bring some exclusives to TW alongside the usual rumour mill stuff and features, though it's getting harder and harder with clubs keeping things more and more in-house!

Any feedback on content the community wants more of will be much appreciated.

Christy Ring (91) Not at all. Maybe I'll know my career has really taken off when I've overtaken his club-carrier on Google!

Like Narcissus in Greek Mythology, he is in love with his own reflection (even after a dump before flushing lol). Think other younger, cheaper players are priorities.

And his age? He's only 29. Footballers are way fitter and play for years past 30 these days. It's an old-fashioned irk to be bothered by a player being 30 or over. Not relevant today. A lot like Everton really. Players play closer to 40 now, not 30.

We should definitely be looking at high-profile players like Grealish. We've got to modernise and act like one of the bigger boys in the playground if we want to get anywhere.

Go for big names, and when they say so, go for more big names. All these years of buying relegated players, losers and unwanteds needs to end.

Grealish will probably end up at a Champions League club anyway (as an unwanted).

We are overloaded in his position though, with Alcaraz, McNeil, Ndiaye. So not an area we are going to spend our limited funds.

Pace on the right wing is a more pressing requirement, alongside another forward, two full-backs….

In answer to your comment above Any feedback on content the community wants more of will be much appreciated, I'd say... encourage regular (or irregular) posters to send articles for publication. That way, it helps everyone to feel included.

The above is just my individual opinion, obviously. Other Blues will have their own take on things, which is exactly as it should be.

Having said that, I have always been a bit of a Luddite and against money buying success and titles. I have a lot more admiration for teams built from grass roots, very rare I must admit these days, as the spend, spend, spend model (regardless) seems to have taken over.

Let us enjoy the football and let the owners count the beans.

As Andy alludes to above, the club can deal with PSR on my behalf. I have very little interest in money matters (albeit they're extremely difficult to ignore).

I'd love to see a quality player like Grealish at Everton. And many more like him please.

I'm with you, Derek. The Spinning Jenny is a backward step for honest working folk. We should all get together to form a trades union or somesuch malarkey...

However I do follow football club financials to a point - and especially how that translates to successful squad building.

There is a reason why say the RS have signed Wirtz and not Grealish.

Acting like the big boys these days (even rich as anything City and Chelsea) means bypassing the overheated transfer market and wage demands - and developing young players through youth player trading, academy, affiliate clubs and the loan system.

That’s what a big modern club does. We can do a lot of that too. It is a better way for us to build a very high quality squad than spending a few years paying a huge wage to a player on a downward trajectory (which in turn robs us of the kitty to develop a few players who are all on the up).

I couldn't agree more. I will definitely be encouraging users to submit content to the site as much as possible.

My early experience of TW is that this community is what makes it such a great site.

I guess posts like this one are designed to stir up a bit of debate which is what I think makes TW. Everyone has an opinion and we want to hear them.