Everton have approached Manchester City about the possibility of taking Jack Grealish on loan for the season.
Grealish, 29, was stuck on the fringes of City’s squad last season and his prospects look no brighter after a summer in which the talented 21-year-old French midfielder Rayan Cherki joined Pep Guardiola’s squad.
Guardiola left Grealish out of his selection for the recent Club World Cup after coming to a mutual agreement with the winger that he needed a break.
Grealish joined City from boyhood club Aston Villa in a transfer worth £100m, which made him the most expensive English footballer in history. And although he has been linked with a return to Villa, it is Everton who have taken the first steps to secure his signature.
Everton are hoping to push on after a 13th-placed finish last season under returning manager David Moyes, having moved into their new ground, the Hill Dickinson Stadium, over the summer.
The club completed the signing of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall from Chelsea on Wednesday for around £25m.
“Everton’s one of the biggest clubs in the country, and I think that in the next couple of years, the future is going to be bright. It was an easy decision in the end to come here and play for this club,” Dewsbury-Hall said.
Everton have been busy in the transfer market this off-season, with Dewsbury-Hall the fifth major signing after Charly Alcaraz, Thierno Barry, Mark Travers and Adam Aznou.
But Moyes said last week that he wants “six more signings” to be content going into the new campaign.