Jack Grealish could have been Everton’s poster boy of a new era. Now his career is in limbo

For the biggest game in Manchester City’s history, Jack Grealish was given a starting berth while Phil Foden, Julián Alvarez and Riyad Mahrez were on the bench. Grealish played the full 90 minutes of the Champions League triumph against Inter Milan because Pep Guardiola had the greatest faith in the attacking midfielder, but three years on he is at risk of being yesterday’s man.

That trust dwindled, not helped by injuries, and Grealish made only 17 Premier League starts over the next two seasons under Guardiola. City wanted him to leave in the summer of 2025, and Everton provided the solution, taking him on loan and borrowing him again for this season. Six Everton appearances into this campaign he was left out of the squad for Thursday’s Carabao Cup win against Newcastle after missing training on Monday. Everton went public with the fact that there had been “a breach of club discipline”.