PREMIER LEAGUE RULES DECIDE IF JACK GREALISH CAN PLAY MAN CITY
Jack Grealish is thriving on loan at Everton but is ineligible to face his parent club, Man City, due to Premier League loan rules. The winger has 1 goal & 4 assists this season.
As of right now, Jack Grealish's transfer to Everton has been a huge success, and the England international is finally playing in the first team again.
Under Pep Guardiola, the 30-year-old's career at Man City had started to stall, and he had never really established himself as a regular starter.
Grealish appears to be back to his best after securing a change of scenery. He opened the 2025–26 Premier League season at the brand-new Hill Dickinson Stadium with a goal and four assists.
But because of the English football regulations that prohibit the loanee from playing this weekend, the Toffees will need to find alternative solutions as they get ready to play Grealish's "parent club" at the Etihad Stadium on October 18.
Is Jack Grealish able to play for Everton against Manchester City?
Jack Grealish will not be eligible to play in either of Everton's domestic games against Man City, including the away game on October 18 and the home game on May 2, 2026, because of the limitations imposed on his loan.
According to Premier League regulations, players who are loaned to domestic teams are not permitted to play against their parent club in league or cup competitions.
However, this regulation is unique to English football and is not commonly used. Grealish would therefore have been available to play if these two clubs had ever met in a European competition.
Why are loan players unable to play for their parent team?
For a long time, the Premier League has prohibited players who are on loan from playing for their parent club.
This is to avoid the awkward scenario when players who are contracted to a specific club negatively impact their competitive endeavours while on loan.
However, in other parts of Europe and the world, this is not typically the case. In contrast to England, most leagues let each loan's talks and contract determine this restriction. Therefore, for such a restriction to be effective, it needs to be included in each specific loan agreement.
This type of restriction is frowned upon in many nations, including Spain. It is common to refer to a provision in a player's loan agreement that prohibits them from playing against their parent club as a "fear clause." The prevailing belief is that if a player is sent abroad because they are surplus to needs, the parent club should not be concerned about them getting wounded on the pitch; otherwise, they should not have sent them out in the first place.
Jack Grealish's Everton loan agreement
For the 2025–2026 season, Jack Grealish moved on loan to Everton as his career at Manchester City stagnated.
To boost his profile and position himself to play for England in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the 30-year-old joined the Toffees with the hopes of playing more minutes.
Numerous reports state that Everton will cover seventy-five per cent of Grealish's annual salary under the terms of the transaction, which came at a cost of roughly £12 million (€13.8 million or $16.1 million).
According to the sources, Everton has a £50 million (€57.5 million or $66.9 million) buy option at the end of the current campaign. However, considering the player's age and Everton's present financial situation, it is extremely improbable that this amount will be activated.
AWONIYI DOUBLE LEAVES NOTTINGHAM FOREST ON THE VERGE OF PREMIER LEAGUE SAFETY
Nottingham Forest moved closer to safety with a 3-1 win over Chelsea, while West Ham fell into the relegation zone after Spurs won.
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Nottingham Forest came out of the weekend looking pretty safe after pulling off an impressive 3-1 win at Chelsea. They’re almost clear of the relegation mess. Tottenham’s big away win at Aston Villa shook things up too, and now West Ham are back in the bottom three, running out of time faster than ever.
Forest have stepped up just when they needed to, leaving West Ham and Tottenham behind with a string of solid performances. Honestly, no one saw this coming, especially since Vitor Pereira shuffled his lineup with eight changes, fresh off a Europa League win against Aston Villa.
Even so, Forest were ahead within 90 seconds, thanks to Taiwo Awoniyi’s quick strike. By the 15th minute, Igor Jesus calmly buried a penalty after Malo Gusto’s reckless foul in the box. Chelsea had a chance to get back in it, but Cole Palmer wasted a penalty right before the break after a scary head collision involving Jesse Derry.
Awoniyi doubled down and scored again early in the second half, pushing Forest six points ahead of West Ham with just three games left.
West Ham’s weekend started badly; they looked flat and lost to Brentford. Things got worse Sunday night when Tottenham pulled off their first back-to-back Premier League wins since August 2025, beating a heavily rotated Aston Villa side 2-1.
Forest is now out of West Ham’s reach, or almost. Tottenham’s still close enough for Nuno Espirito Santo’s team to worry, but with three tough games coming up, Spurs could stay up even without another win, unless West Ham digs deep and pulls off something unexpected before their home finale against Leeds.
Right now, Forest can practically taste safety. Spurs finally see a way out after weeks of struggle. As for West Ham, they’re left hoping for a miracle, a last-minute twist to dodge the drop.
CESC FABREGAS CONFIRMS INTEREST IN PREMIER LEAGUE RETURN AMID CHELSEA'S MANAGER SEARCH
As Chelsea searches for a new manager, Cesc Fabregas breaks his silence on his future at Como and his Premier League ambitions.
Cesc Fabregas recalls exactly how a conversation with Jose Mourinho prompted him to join Chelsea, despite having the opportunity to return to Arsenal.
After winning six trophies in just three seasons, the Spanish World Cup winner left Barcelona for the second time in 2014. That summer, Fabregas made a move back to the Premier League, signing with Chelsea for about €33 million.
He already knew English football well. Fabregas had arrived at Arsenal as a 16-year-old from Barcelona in 2003 and made 212 Premier League appearances for them. When he decided to leave Barcelona, Manchester City also wanted him, but Chelsea convinced him, mostly thanks to Mourinho.
Talking with talkSPORT’s Rory Jennings on YouTube, Fabregas laid out how it all happened. “Honestly, when I made up my mind to leave Barcelona, my first thought was just to go back to Arsenal. They had this buyback clause; they had two weeks to use it after I told them I was leaving. They knew about it but didn’t take it. That surprised me a little, but in the end, I had to think about my career. I was 27, at the peak of my career, and I wanted to continue performing and winning trophies. City and Chelsea were both options.
“But when Mourinho spoke to me, that was it. He showed me his plans for the team and told me about Diego Costa, Courtois, and Filipe Luis and how, with those guys, we’d win the league. He was right, by the way. We won both the Premier League and the Carling Cup.”
Fabregas wasted no time winning over Chelsea fans. On his debut at Burnley, he set up two goals, including a stunning assist for Andre Schurrle. He finished his first season at Chelsea with five goals and 24 assists, along with Premier League and League Cup medals.
Things dipped the next season. Fabregas got just 15 goal contributions, and Chelsea slipped all the way to tenth. But when Antonio Conte took charge in 2016-17, they bounced back, and Fabregas picked up another league title.
He added an FA Cup win in 2018, his second, after his earlier one with Arsenal, and left for Monaco a few months later. His last Chelsea match came in the FA Cup against Nottingham Forest. When he got subbed off, he couldn’t hold back tears.
Chelsea supporters still sing about him; that “Oh, Fabregas is magic...” chant sticks around. And with his name in the conversation for a possible return, maybe they haven’t seen the last of him yet.
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