The 30-year-old England winger joined Everton on a season-long loan from Manchester City last August and rapidly became one of the Premier League's most influential attacking players. He contributed two goals and six assists in 20 appearances and was named the Premier League's August Player of the Month before a stress fracture to his foot in January brought his campaign to a premature end.
He is expected to be fit by early June.
The question is where he plays next season. His loan at Everton expires on 30 June. His Manchester City contract runs to the summer of 2027. And incoming City head coach Enzo Maresca has not yet confirmed whether Grealish has a future at the Etihad Stadium.
The signals from Goodison Park are positive. Manager David Moyes has spoken consistently about Grealish's value — not just on the pitch but around the training ground and at club events throughout the second half of the season, when he remained a visible and engaged presence despite being unable to play. Everton supporters filmed him singing "one more year, Jack Grealish" at the club's end-of-season awards evening last week.
Manchester City are prepared to sanction another loan move, mirroring the financial arrangement from this season in which City covered a significant portion of Grealish's wages. His earnings are understood to be close to £300,000 per week at City — a figure Everton cannot meet unaided but which City are willing to subsidise again to ensure he finds consistent playing time.
For Grealish, the decision is about more than location. He needs a manager who will play him week to week, in his best position, with the freedom to express himself. At Everton under Moyes, he had exactly that. Whether City offer the same at the Etihad next season — in a squad that may now include Enzo Fernández, Elliot Anderson and others — is the central question.
At Aston Villa, at the peak of his powers, Grealish played every minute of a promotion season and drove his club to their first top-flight return in years. He needs that version of himself back. Everton believe they know how to give it to him.
The Instagram post is not a contract. But it is something.