Jack Grealish has fresh Man City deadline as he makes early return

On the night England played Slovenia in Cologne, Jack Grealish wanted his followers to know that he was in Manchester.

The 2021 signing could be anywhere in the world given he was cut from Gareth Southgate's squad for the European Championship yet he was at the City Football Academy being put through his paces by fitness coaches ahead of the new season. It isn't even his first training session or social media post of the summer, although a return to his club before the end of June certainly sends a message.

It's exactly the sort of statement that Pep Guardiola will appreciate from afar as the coach enjoys his holidays, and Southgate likely won't mind it either, even as he has much bigger concerns to occupy his thoughts. After underperforming last season to the point where he became less essential for club and country, this is a very public show of determination that Grealish is ready to go again.

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City will relish it, especially given most of their stars are still busy at the Euros, but there is another deadline that Grealish has to consider as he plans his season. July 13, 2025 is already in the calendar as the final of the first-ever version of the expanded Club World Cup that the Blues are aiming to be in.

Having already qualified for the new tournament courtesy of their Champions League victory in 2023, City already know that they will be spending the best part of four weeks in the United States at the end of their season. The end of the European club calendar comes on May 31 with the Champions League final in Munich,