Manchester City outcast Jack Grealish has agreed to return to pre-season training alone as he tries to force an exit from the club.
The 29-year-old will report for training a week early while other City stars continue to enjoy the rest of their holidays.
Pep Guardiola’s squad are on a well deserved summer break following a long season and their Club World Cup campaign, which saw them dumped out in the round-of-16 by Saudi side Al-Hilal.
But Grealish was brutally axed from the 27-man tournament squad and has not been afforded the same break.
The England international, who has been working with personal trainer Jamie Reynolds throughout the summer to maintain fitness, will train by himself when he returns this week, according to the Telegraph.
Grealish, who joined City from Aston Villa for £100million four years ago, was told that he could leave at the beginning of the summer but a move is yet to materialise.
His return to training will come while his team-mates are relishing some time in the sun ahead of the start of Premier League next month.
Ruben Dias has been spotted relaxing with girlfriend Maya Jama at Cala Bassa Beach Club in Ibiza, having already travelled to Florida together.
Erling Haaland and partner Isabel Haugseng attended the Dolce & Gabbana Alta Moda fashion show in Rome, while Nathan Ake announced the birth of his fourth child on Instagram.
Ilkay Gundogan is enjoying a trip to Bodrum in Turkey with his family while Brazilian forward Savinho also shared a snap from his travels.
Guardiola himself has insisted that Grealish needs game time and that it would be ‘best’ for him to leave the Etihad.
The Spaniard said: ‘He had a conversation with the club and they decided it was best.
‘Jack is an exceptional player. The only reason why he didn’t play last season is of course my decisions.
‘We decide that he has to play. The club was honest, he was honest.
‘We decide that the best thing is to stay (behind) and have a place that he can feel like he can come back to be the player like he was in the year of the Treble or all his career in Aston Villa.
‘Without him it would have been more difficult in the year of the Treble.
‘The fact is in the last two seasons he didn’t play much minutes. He has to come back to play and have the butterflies in his stomach that he can play every three days, every three days and show again the quality he has.’
The treble winner has two years remaining on his £300,000-per-week contract amid interest from Premier League sides and abroad.
Italian champions Napoli are said to be interested in the attacker, as are Everton and West Ham, but his huge wage bill is appearing to be prohibitive.
City will listen to loan offers if they cannot find a willing bidder for a man they signed for £100m in 2021.
England manager Thomas Tuchel has also told the winger that he must be playing more to earn a place in his plans, having left him out of his first two squads.
Grealish has made 39 England appearances and was ‘heartbroken’ to be left out of Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2024 squad, calling it ‘the most difficult thing I have had to deal with in my career’.
Despite his impending departure, Grealish’s relationship with City fans remains strong.
He was spotted attending Oasis’ gig at Heaton Park last Friday, and was pictured speaking to supporters from the VIP barrier.
‘You know what? I love City more than anything,’ the England international told a fan.
‘And do you know what I love more than anything? City fans. They’re the best fans in the world.’
Grealish enjoyed a holiday of his own earlier in the summer, as he soaked up the sun in Greece.
He even went viral on TikTok after seemingly being conned into paying a fan’s bill while on the trip.
A video posted on TikTok by Patric Persson shows the prankster being handed a bill which he then takes over to Grealish as the City winger relaxes by the pool.
Persson then asks Grealish for his autograph and he is happy to oblige, but does not realise that he is actually signing for the bill.
Grealish and Persson shake hands, before the latter returns to the bill to the waiter, having seemingly got Grealish to pay for whatever he ordered.
