Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has addressed the future of England international Jack Grealish, leaving the door open for his return to the Etihad Stadium. Grealish, currently on a season-long loan at Everton since August, has made a significant impact on Merseyside, leading to speculation about his potential recall. The 30-year-old playmaker had previously fallen out of favor in Guardiola's pecking order.

Although Grealish cannot feature against his parent club in the upcoming Premier League clash on Saturday, his impressive form at Everton has not gone unnoticed by Guardiola. The City manager confirmed, "I think he has a contract for one more year with us. The important thing is he is back. He is a massive influence in the Everton games. After what's happened, maybe Manchester City want him back, but I don't know. Many things are still going to happen. We'll see." Guardiola expressed his contentment with Grealish's return to consistent playtime, stating, "The important thing is he is playing again, a lot of minutes. This is the standard. I'm happy, really, honestly, that he's back in, trying his best."

In other team news, Guardiola will be without Rodri for the Everton encounter due to a knee setback. Meanwhile, the City boss also spoke enthusiastically about star striker Erling Haaland, who he believes is currently in the best form of his career. The prolific Norwegian has been in sensational goal-scoring touch, netting a remarkable 21 goals in just 12 appearances for Manchester City and Norway this season.

Haaland's recent feats include an incredible five-goal haul against Moldova in September and a hat-trick against Israel last weekend, which has propelled Norway to the brink of World Cup qualification for the first time since 1998. For Manchester City, he has scored 12 goals in nine outings this term, with the loss to Tottenham in September being the only match in which he failed to find the net. These goals have brought the 25-year-old's total tally for the club to 136 since his move from Borussia Dortmund in 2022.

Guardiola humorously remarked on Haaland's formidable presence, joking that he would need to deploy "four central defenders" if he were an opposition manager. He added, "I had the pleasure of facing him when he was in Dortmund and hopefully I'm not going to face him again for the rest of my life. He's a top-class player. In world football, there are four, five, six, 10 players who make the difference. I think he's one of them. We have him, hopefully for many years, and are really pleased for that." When asked if this is Haaland's peak performance, Guardiola affirmed, "I think it is. He feels really good and his performance levels, not just in terms of goals, but many things, are outstanding." The manager noted that he sees little need for extensive man-management for Haaland at this time, reserving that for potential future dips in form: "What I'm saying is, [he's] going to drop because it's impossible to sustain that, [but] I will be there, we will be there. Always we have to sustain [each other] in bad moments. Now, he doesn't need compliments and doesn't need anything special."