Kevin De Bruyne makes Jack Grealish transfer stance clear after Napoli talks

Manchester City have frozen out Jack Grealish with the England star free to find a new club this summer and Kevin De Bruyne would like to play with him again at Napoli

Kevin De Bruyne wants Napoli to reunite him with Jack Grealish in Naples this summer with the Manchester City star now on the lookout for a new club.

De Bruyne, 33, linked up with the newly minted Italian champions earlier this month after being told he would not be offered a new deal by City. And Grealish looks set to follow the Belgian maestro out of the Etihad before the summer is out after being axed from City’s squad for the FIFA Club World Cup.

A host of clubs have been linked with a move for Grealish, however, it emerged earlier this week that City have received no offers for the 29-year-old England star.

Napoli are the latest club to be credited with an interest in Grealish – and De Bruyne is said to have been sounded out by Antonio Conte over a potential move for the former Aston Villa man.

As per The Sun, De Bruyne has given Grealish a glowing reference to the Napoli boss in the hope that the club will make a move for the winger.

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City are prepared to take a significant financial hit on a player they paid £100million for back in the summer of 2021. And Grealish would likely have to take a huge pay cut in order to move to Napoli, with the report claiming he earns around £300,000-a-week.

Napoli are also considering a move for Alejandro Garncho – who they linked with back in January – and Jadon Sancho, both of whom are free to leave Manchester United.

But it remains to be seen which of the players they will actually pursue given they have no need for all three.

Pep Guardiola recently confirmed that Grealish is available to leave the club, explaining: “It was a conversation between him and the club and they decide. Jack is an exceptional player, the only reason why he didn’t play last season is of course my decisions, and we decide that he has to play – and the club was honest, he was honest.

“We decide the best is that he has a place that he can feel he can play and come back to be the player that he was in the year of the treble or all his career at Aston Villa; without him it would have been impossible or more difficult to achieve the treble.

“The fact is the last two seasons he hasn’t played much minutes and he has to come back to play and get the butterflies back in his stomach that he can play every three days and show again the quality that he has.”

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