Kevin De Bruyne’s comments on Jack Grealish speak volumes as Napoli consider reunion

Jack Grealish appears to have no future at Manchester City after a lacklustre season and the 29-year-old could be set for a reunion with Kevin De Bruyne at Napoli

Jack Grealish looks set to leave Manchester City this summer, having been left out their squad for the Club World Cup after a disappointing campaign saw him make just two goal contributions in 20 Premier League appearances.

Napoli have emerged as Grealish’s most likely escape route, but the player’s wages are proving to be an issue. Grealish reportedly earns around £300,000 per week and Napoli are said to be unwilling to match that.

As a result, City could be forced to foot some of the bill in order to secure Grealish’s next and there have been suggestions they may let him go out on loan. If Grealish does end up joining the Serie A champions, it would see him reunite with former City teammate Kevin De Bruyne.

The Belgian joined Napoli on a free transfer earlier this month after City announced that they had no plans to offer him a contract extension. De Bruyne and Grealish spent four seasons together at the Etihad and have both spoken highly of each other in the past

Speaking after a 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest back in December, De Bruyne said: “Jack is so good at controlling the tempo of the game, at holding the ball. You can’t really get it off him, and then sliding through plays. That’s his quality. Maybe with the type of guys we have on the flanks, he’s very good at that.

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“I think we needed a bit more control and he was able to do that with Bernardo, Gundo and myself in the middle, and Jeremy who is a different player and very electric. I think we performed well as a team but I think Jack did exceptional.”

De Bruyne also highlighted Grealish’s creativity after facing him in the Nations League before he joined City. “I rate him [Grealish] very highly,” he said at the time. “He’s somebody I mentioned before, talking to the team-mates at City, in a random conversation. In England, they talked about creative problems in midfield, but he brings that to a team.”

And after it was announced that De Bruyne would be leaving City, Grealish said the playmaker was the “best” player he has ever played with and revealed that the chance to be his teammate was one of the reasons why he made the move to the Etihad in the first place.

“One of the reasons I joined Man City was to play alongside you brother! The BEST I’ve ever had the pleasure to play with, for sure. Legend!” he wrote in a post on Instagram.

Grealish joined City from Aston Villa for £100m back in 2021 and has made 40 goal contributions in 157 appearances across all competitions, helping them win three Premier League titles, a Champions League and an FA Cup.

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