Chelsea are rumoured to have looked at Jack Grealish before his move from Manchester City to Everton in the summer.
Chelsea made several additions to their attack during the last transfer window, bringing in Joao Pedro, Liam Delap, Alejandro Garnacho, Jamie Gittens and Facundo Buonanotte.
Estevao Willian also arrived at Stamford Bridge after agreeing to join the Blues last year. Estevao really impressed in Brazil and is now shining in England, recently scoring Chelsea’s winning goal against Liverpool.
On top of the above names, though, it looks like the Club World Cup winners also had an interest in Grealish.
Photo by Ed Sykes/Sportsphoto/Allstar Via Getty ImagesChelsea looked at Jack Grealish on a ‘couple of occasions’
Chelsea were keen to bring a new attacking midfielder to the club and ended up with Buonanotte after signing the 20-year-old on loan.
However, journalist Simon Phillips has claimed on Si Phillips Talks Chelsea that Chelsea looked at signing Grealish on a “couple of occasions”.
According to Phillips, despite the 30-year-old’s struggles at City, Chelsea “seriously considered it”.
The decision not to sign Grealish is one that the club may be regretting. The Englishman has been on fire for Everton this season, while Chelsea’s first-choice attacking midfielder Cole Palmer is struggling with a groin injury.
In his absence, the Blues were still able to beat Liverpool last weekend. Danny Murphy recently discussed Palmer’s unavailability, claiming that it actually benefitted Enzo Maresca‘s side.
Photo by Jason Mowry/Getty ImagesHow Jack Grealish compares to Chelsea’s other attackers
David Moyes has been using Grealish on the left this season, and he is outperforming Chelsea’s wide men there right now.
For example, the England international has registered four assists in the Premier League, which is more than any Chelsea attacker.
PlayerGamesMinutesGoalsAssistsKey passes per gameJack Grealish7557142.4Cole Palmer3145100.3Joao Pedro7586231Estevao Willian6266110.7Pedro Neto7512101.3Alejandro Garnacho286000.5Facundo Buonanotte166002Jamie Gittens5161000.6Via Jack Grealish’s WhoScored and Chelsea’s WhoScored pages
City paid Aston Villa £100m to sign Grealish back in 2021, a fee that he has not justified. However, that does not mean that Grealish is a bad player, which he is proving at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.