Pep Guardiola speaks on Grealish transfer after brutal axe - "He was honest"

Jack Grealish appears to have little future with Manchester City after falling out of favour with boss Pep Guardiola and the Spaniard has made his stance very clear on an exit

Pep Guardiola revealed the “honest” conversations behind the decision to allow Jack Grealish to leave this summer. Grealish is not in City’s Club World Cup squad and will be allowed to go either on loan or on a permanent transfer.

England star Grealish is now doing his own training as he plans his next career move but City are set to cut ties with him. Guardiola paid an emotional tribute to Grealish and said he owed him a huge debt of gratitude for the part he has played in his success.

City boss Guardiola said: “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.”

Guardiola also admitted that Kyle Walker is also set to go with Everton one of the clubs interested in the England defender. But Guardiola could not confirm any news on the futures for Walker and Grealish and where they might end up next season.

Guardiola added: “I don’t have any news, it’s the same for Jack. Regarding the links, I don’t know. You have to ask.”

Serie A side Napoli have already emerged as the most likely candidates for Grealish's services, with club chiefs earmarking around £45m for a deal. But they would struggle to afford his £300k-per-week wage packet.

City would likely have to foot around 50 percent of the bill to facilitate a move to Naples. And even then, Napoli already have Manchester United star Alejandro Garnacho in mind as an alternative.

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The Argentine is seen as potentially a better long-term investment due to his age. He looks set to leave Old Trafford after a very public falling out with boss Ruben Amorim.

Napoli have of course already moved for one Man City star this summer in the form of Kevin De Bruyne, who penned a two-year deal with the club after his City contract was allowed to expire.