
Everton plotting shock move for Manchester City star Jack Grealish
Napoli have expressed interest so far, but Everton feel they have a chance due to the player's anticipated willingness to stay in the north of England.
The player had a daughter with his long-term partner Sasha Attwood in September, and is keen for some stability.
Everton would provide the chance to stay in Cheshire and could present an attractive football opportunity, too. David Moyes is willing to build his team around Grealish, while offering more freedom than he has had at City.
Many close to the player feel one reason for his recent struggles has been the fact that such a free-spirited attacker has been tactically constrained.
There is also the added attraction of Everton entering a new era in their Hill Dickinson Stadium, and the Friedken ownership's willingness to spend after the recent takeover.
Everton are also in talks with Lyon over 20-year-old Belgian sensation Malick Fofana. The forward can play across the front line, but the French club want over £40m to sell.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

The 42
3 hours ago
- The 42
Ireland's Fiona Mangan wins Intermediate Sprint at Tour de France
Updated at 18.44 FRENCH RIDER Maeva Squiban claimed a back-to-back double on the women's Tour de France by winning stage 7 on Friday, a day after her first breakaway stage victory, while Ireland's Fiona Mangan won the Intermediate Sprint. The Limerick native, who becomes the first Irish rider to achieve this feat, claimed 25 points as a result, with Spain's Yurani Blanco and American Ruth Edwards second and third, respectively. Mangan also moves up to 30th in the overall ranking for the category. Advertisement Mangan also finished 66th in today's stage, while fellow Irish riders Mia Griffin and Lara Gillespie were 99th and 123rd. Griffin is now 92nd overall, with Mangan 99th and Gillespie 104th. Mauritian Kim Le Court-Pienaar held on to the overall lead as the nine-day race heads into Saturday's stage 8, the first of two Alpine runs taking in two ascents and finishing atop the Col de la Madeleine at 2000m. The 23-year-old Squiban attacked from distance on the hilly 159.7km stage from Bourg-en-Bresse to Chambery in a carbon copy of her first stage win, while her compatriot Cedrine Kerbaol and American Ruth Edwards rounded out the podium. Squiban broke away two kilometres from the summit of the Col du Granier, later claiming she had been joking when she went. 'I jokingly said I would attack at the start. In the end, it wasn't a joke,' she said. In the overall standings on the eve of the queen stage, the penultimate of this 2025 edition, Le Court has a 26-second lead over Pauline Ferrand-Prevot and a 30sec margin over defending champion Katarzyna Niewiadoma. You can view the full rankings here. – © AFP 2025

The 42
3 hours ago
- The 42
'Connacht helped South Africa to win the World Cup'
IT WAS AUGUST 2007 and the mighty Springboks were in Galway. Jake White's side would go on to win the World Cup in imposing fashion a couple of months later but first, they had a warm-up game against the apparent minnows, Connacht. Michael Bradley's side were expected to be cannon fodder for the beefy, brutal South Africans. But Connacht had other ideas. They'd got wind of a relaxed approach to the game by the visitors. 'I think they were enjoying the culture in Galway a little bit too much,' says Andrew Farley, the Connacht captain at the time. 'We'd heard that they'd been out for a few nights in Galway sampling the local Guinness and stuff like that, so they were a little bit underdone.' Sitting outside the famous Breakfast Creek Hotel in his native Brisbane, Farley smiles at the thought of that game. Connacht lost but it was a battle at the Sportsground that spoke volumes of the province's ethos. The westerners' defence was brilliant and they trailed 3-0 at the break before Andy Dunne's penalty drew them back to within five points in the final quarter. Bismarck du Plessis was sin-binned for throwing a punch in frustration and the Boks had to call on big guns like Bryan Habana off the bench to finally get the job done and squeeze out an 18-3 victory in Galway. 'We helped them win the World Cup, that's what I always tell people,' says Farley. 'That's a great memory of ours in Connacht. It was fantastic.' Farley is part of the Connacht Clan Hall of Fame. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO Last Christmas was the first time since leaving the place in 2009 that Farley got back to Connacht for the sole purpose of visiting his old province. He had been in Galway in 2015 with French club Grenoble, where he played and managed after moving on from Ireland, but last year's trip was all about catching up with old friends. Second row Farley played for Connacht more than 150 times during a six-year spell that included two periods as captain, as well as a few appearances for Ireland A, so he has great grá for the place. He is part of the Connacht Clan's Hall of Fame. Farley took great pleasure in catching up with the likes of John Fogarty, Mike McCarthy, Bernard Jackman, Adrian Flavin, Tim Allnutt and many more while he and his family had a mini-tour of Europe, also visiting France and Wales, where his wife, Lucy, is from. Growing up in Brisbane, Farley could never have imagined the west of Ireland would play a big role in his life. He came through Marist College Ashgrove, the same school as the great John Eales, and played for Australia at U18, U19, and U21 levels. The Aussie back row in those teams was George Smith, Phil Waugh, and David Lyons, while Farley played against the likes of Richie McCaw, Mils Muliaina, and the late Jerry Collins in the U21 World Cup final, which New Zealand won. Advertisement Back then in the early 2000s, Australia only had three teams in Super Rugby, so it was tough for a young lock like Farley to break through given that the likes of Eales and Matt Cockbain were so established with his club, the Queensland Reds. Farley had already had two development stints abroad with Italian club L'Aquila and Kiwi side Otago when former Wallabies boss John Connelly called him and asked if he fancied moving to Wales to play for Swansea for another new experience. 'I was a young kid and just rocked up. That Swansea team was a savage team,' says Farley, listing off Scott Gibbs, Colin Charvis, Shaun Payne, Darren Morris, and a young Gavin Henson. Farley only had one season with Swansea and his intention was to go home but he got a call from fellow Australian Matt Mostyn, who was moving from Newport to Connacht in the summer of 2003. Farley carries the ball for Connacht. Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO Next thing Farley knew, he was on the phone with Michael Bradley, who was taking over in Connacht in the wake of the province's march on Lansdowne Road to protest against the IRFU's plans to shut down the professional arm of the province. 'Michael told me that Connacht had just survived all the troubles that they'd had, that they'd got reinvestment and he asked me to come for a year,' says Farley. 'When he said, 'We've got security now,' I was kind of like, 'Security for what?' 'I didn't know a huge amount about the struggle and it was surprising to me but he sold me on the idea of a new project. Matt was going too and he's someone I'm still mates with now.' Nothing much had changed back in the Reds squad, so Queensland agreed for Farley to spend another year in Europe. He ended up taking over as Connacht captain the following season and spending six years there in total. Galway is certainly different to Brisbane but Farley loved the place, aside from the weather. 'Coming from Queensland, I was softened a little bit by Swansea, but like there's no doubting it – it rains a lot,' he says. 'But at heart, Galway is a very warm city. The people and the culture are great and I thoroughly enjoyed it.' That was a different time for Connacht, well before they could dream of winning the Pro12 as they did in 2013 under Pat Lam. The facilities were certainly nothing near the new high performance centre where Stuart Lancaster's team are now doing pre-season. And the current stadium redevelopment was not even close to being on the cards. The highlights in Farley's time were a few thrilling Challenge Cup runs and though they lost more games than they won, he felt like he fitted in. 'With Connacht, and it's sort of like a Queensland thing, you're always the underdog,' says Farley. Farley played for Ireland A three times. Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO 'So you sort of use that as, 'Let's go and spoil the party.' I did like that mentality, it's a very similar mentality here in Queensland with the other states. 'There's quite a few Aussies that have gone over to Connacht and really enjoyed it. Canberra boys are used to the weather! Where would Mack Hansen be without Connacht now?' Farley qualified for Ireland on residency grounds in 2006 and the following year, Ireland head coach Eddie O'Sullivan gave him a shout. There were good second row stocks in Ireland with the likes of Paul O'Connell, Donncha O'Callaghan, Malcolm O'Kelly, and Mick O'Driscoll, among others, but Farley was keen and joined the squad for a few training camps and was then picked in the Ireland A squad for the 2007 Churchill Cup in England. It was a good experience playing alongside Johnny Sexton, Luke Fitzgerald, Keith Earls, Mike Ross, Sean Cronin, and some of his Connacht team-mates, but Farley admits it was a big decision to commit to Ireland. 'By choosing to take that path, I was locking myself out of Australia because then I became Irish-qualified and I could no longer obvously come back and play for Australia. 'But you know, I was captain of Connacht at the time and I made the decision and I don't regret it. I had a fantastic time.' Declan Kidney took over as Ireland boss in 2008 and Farley wasn't part of his plans. So when Grenoble made an approach in 2009, Farley's head was turned. He had turned 29 and reckoned he could play on for longer in French rugby. There was an ambitious plan in Grenoble. So it was that Farley and Lucy moved to France together and lived there for nine years, with all three of their children born there. Farley during his time with Grenoble. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO Farley played for the club more than 100 times across five seasons, then moved into a management role with Grenoble up until 2018. Initially after retiring from playing, Farley split his duties at Grenoble with working part-time in the club president's global engineering company. That experience proved important for Farley, who works with a company called BuildingPoint Australia these days. Life back in Brisbane is good. The Farley children – Ava, Sophia, and Tom – love growing up in Australia and their dad still has a core group of his old school friends to this day. Farley remains involved with rugby as a big supporter and also through a programme called the C2K Rugby Academy, which supports young players with position-specific training, mentoring, and advice. He has helped a couple of youngsters to find rugby opportunities in Europe through his contacts, knowing as he does that taking on an adventure on the other side of the world can be life-changing. 'I can't thank rugby enough,' says Farley. 'It's not until after rugby, when people mentor you and look after you, that you realise that you've learnt so much from playing. 'There are just so many examples from my career that enable me to be a good leader now. 'You've actually got a diploma in life from playing rugby.'


The Irish Sun
4 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Fears Pep Guardiola's ‘imminent' divorce could hurt Man City as boss' relationship with wife continues to deteriorate
PEP Guardiola's divorce is set to be finalised 'imminently'. The Manchester City boss and Advertisement 5 Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola and his wife Cristina Serra are expected to finalise their divorce Credit: Getty 5 Pep's marriage woes coincided with his worst slump as a manager Credit: Getty 5 Pep with wife Cristina and daughter Maria at Wimbledon in 2024 Credit: AP And there are fears the troubles could overshadow the start of the new season. Insiders said his Advertisement READ MORE PEP GUARDIOLA They expect details to be finalised in weeks and made official as early as next month. Respected Spanish journalists Laura Fa and Lorena Vazquez, who broke the story of their split, insisted there is no way back. Fa said: 'The signing of this divorce is going to be imminent. Evidently their relationship sentimentally has come to an end.' Vazquez said: 'The relationship has ceased to be friendly and has become cordial. We're not saying there's tension between them but the break-up has moved on to another level. Advertisement Most read in Football 'There's perhaps more urgency to set a date for the end of this relationship.' Pep, 54, and Cristina, 52, have been together for 30 years and wed in 2014. Man City boss Pep Guardiola visits his new business venture Monarka Clinic Cristina, who Sources said they agreed to part in December just weeks after he Advertisement Cristina told friends it was the last straw. Pep refused to give up and when news of the split broke he was seen emerging from a team hotel still wearing his wedding ring. In March he The estranged Advertisement Last month they joined kids Maria, 24, and Marius, 22, 5 Guardiola and his family recent attended an Oasis concert in Manchester, pictured with Richard Ashcroft Credit: x 5 Cristina Serra also attended the Oasis comeback concert with Pep Guardiola and their children Credit: TikTok Advertisement