According to The Times reporter Paul Joyce, the conversations have gathered pace as Everton weighs the cost of taking on a player whose weekly wages stand at £300,000 [$403,470], a figure City hopes to recover almost in full over the course of a season-long loan worth around £12m [$16m].

Everton have intensified efforts to sign Manchester City winger Jack Grealish and are not put off by his £300,000-a-week wages, according to reports. Grealish is surplus to requirements at the Etihad Stadium after a disappointing campaign.

Jack Grealish faces little future with Manchester City under Pep Guardiola but one of their Premier League rivals could offer the England man an escape route from the Etihad Stadium