England international Jack Grealish has revealed the two ex-players that inspired him to join Everton FC on loan from Manchester City.
The fan favourite, who joined Man City as Britain’s first-ever £100 million player back in 2021, has struggled to find a regular spot in Pep Guardiola‘s starting XI since arriving at the Etihad Stadium, but has already won all there is to win at the English club level in his time there.
Now 29 years old – largely considered well within the prime years for a footballer, if not soon to be exiting it – the next few seasons are likely to prove crucial for the Birmingham-born star.
With that in mind, Grealish has now completed his loan transition from City to Everton and has revealed that, besides the history and passionate supporters, two former legends played a big part in influencing his decision to say yes.
"My two favourite English players ever are Wayne Rooney and Paul Gascoigne and I know they both wore number 18 here."
Much like many footy fans from the past couple of generations, the Aston Villa product admitted that Wayne Rooney and Paul Gascoigne are two of his favourite sportsmen of all time.
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While the Man United legend went on to notch the biggest achievements of his career here in Manchester, he started out life and his professional career as a teenager in the blue half of Liverpool, coming through as one of the club’s most exciting prospects ever.
As explained above, the now-loaned-out attacking midfielder also revealed that picking the number 18 was a tap-in, not only because it was Rooney’s first shirt but also that of another fellow retired Toffee and English footballing icon in Gazza, who played 32 times for the club towards the end of his playing days.
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There aren’t many clubs and/or shirts that could convince a modern-day Premier League star to swap the number 10 at Treble-winning ‘four-midables’, Man City; aside from the obvious increase in playing time, there seems to be some genuine heart and sentimentality behind the switch.
Whether or not it will prove to be the right next step for the talented dribbler and creative attacking talent, only time will tell.
Is it the right move for the England international? ⚖️#MCFC#Transfers
Not too long after being reinstated as Everton manager himself, David Moyes is also said to have played a significant role in convincing Grealish to make the move to Merseyside.
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The fact that the Three Lions regular has serious “ambition” to get back in the squad for the upcoming World Cup, having been left “heartbroken” as he missed out on Euro 2024, made Moyes’ sales pitch a fairly straightforward one: ‘come be the main man and fight your way back into the selection’.
It’s said that the deal includes an option to buy for approximately £50m (half the price his parent club paid a then-record sum for him), and his new team are expected to pay a big chunk of his reported £300k-a-week wages – with overall outgoings potentially reaching more than £12m after the loan fee.
You can see Grealish’s first interview in the darker shade of blue down below.
Here’s what Grealish had to say on his loan move to Everton for the 2025/26 season.
Full list of road closures announced as IRONMAN 2026 takes over Bolton next weekend
Emily Sergeant
The official route and full list of road closures have been announced, as Bolton prepares to host the IRONMAN next weekend.
Bolton has been the proud home of the UK’s IRONMAN race since 2009, and the world-renowned triathlon is all set to take over the Greater Manchester town once again in a couple of weeks time – with participants and spectators in thousands all preparing to flock to all four corners of the borough to the catch the action.
People of all ages and abilities – even including kids – are training to take part in three different events across the weekend.
And, as is always the case, residents and road users are being urged to plan ahead.
Bolton Council says a series of temporary road closures are needed to ‘ensure the safety’ of competitors and spectators.
⚠️ Road closures alert for IRONMAN 2026.
📆Friday, June 5 to Sunday, June 7.
For the safety of residents, visitors and athletes, roads will be closed at various times, and unfortunately some disruption is unavoidable.
Road closures are set to be the same as last year and will be in place for Night Run Bolton on Friday 5 June and IRONKIDS Bolton on Saturday June 6, before IRONMAN 70.3 then officially arrives on Sunday 7 June, extending from Pennington Flash in Leigh to Bolton, where Chorley New Road and the town centre will be most affected.
The town centre and Middlebrook retail park will be open as normal all weekend, but anyone driving into the town centre is advised to park at one of the car parks – which will be open as normal – rather than elsewhere or in the surrounding areas.
Anyone heading to Middlebrook from Bolton is advised to use Wigan Road (A676 / A58), to Manchester Road / Chorley Road (A6), and then use De Havilland Way (A6027) to reach the retail park.
Full list of road closures for IRONMAN 2026
All weekend:
Le Mans Crescent, Howell Croft North, and Howell Croft South will be closed from 6am on Friday 6 June to 9am on Monday 9 June, due to the course set up and build for the weekend events.
Friday 28 June – Night Run:
Moor Lane, Deansgate, Knowsley Street, Chorley Street, Spa Road (eastbound), St Edmund Street, Helena Road, and Bridge Street will all be closed from 5:30-9pm.
Saturday 29 June – IRONKIDS:
Le Mans Crescent will be closed all day
Deansgate will be closed from 6am-5pm
Sunday 30 June 30 – IRONMAN 70.3:
St Helen’s Road, Sandy Lane, Byrom Lane, Slag Lane, and Lowton Road will be closed from 6-10am
Wigan Road/Warrington Road (A573) will be closed from 6-10am
Bickershaw Lane, a short section of the A578, Nel Pan Lane, and Westleigh Lane will be closed from 6-10:45am
Atherleigh Way (A579) between St Helen’s Road and Kirkhall Lane, will be closed northbound only from 6-9:45am, and between Kirkhall Lane and the Talbot roundabout from 6-10:45am
Gibfield Park Way and Gibfield Park Avenue will be closed from 6-11am
North Road from the junction with Gibfield Park Avenue, Platt Lane and the A58 from Platt Lane to the Chequerbent roundabout will be closed from 6:30-11am
Park Road and Manchester Road (A6) will be closed westbound only from 7-11am
Chew Moor Lane / Tempest Road to Regent Road, and Regent Road to Chorley New Road, will be closed from 7-11:15am
De Havilland Way will be closed northbound from 7am-1pm
Victoria Road (A58) and Old Kiln Lane will be closed from 7am-1pm
Chorley New Road, from Beaumont Road to the Beehive Roundabout, will be closed eastbound from 7am-1pm but there will be access westbound throughout the day.
Chorley New Road, from Beaumont Road to Waterslea Drive, will be closed from 7am-1:30pm
Chorley New Road, from Waterslea Drive to St George’s Road (B6226), will be closed 7am-5:30pm
Chew Moor Lane, St John’s Road, Tempest Road, and Regent Road will be closed from 7-11:15am
Chorley Street, Bark Street, St Helena’s Road, Blackhorse Street, and Queen Street will be closed from 7am-3:30pm
Spa Road will be closed from 6am-6pm
“Facilitating events of this scale is not easy,” a spokesperson for Bolton Council explained ahead of the events arriving next weekend, “and it’s essential we put the health and safety of the participants and spectators as a priority.
“To ensure this requirement is met, temporary road closures will be put in place across the town, so we strongly urge residents and visitors to plan their trips with this in mind.”
More information on the course and diversions to avoid road closures – including maps and timings – can be found on the IRONMAN website here.
Featured Image – David J H Sun (Wikimedia Commons)
Sport
Major ‘plan ahead’ travel warning issued for this weekend ahead of Great Manchester Run
Emily Sergeant
A major ‘plan ahead’ warning has been issued for Manchester this weekend.
Heading into the city centre this weekend? Yeah… you and everyone else by the sounds of it, as Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is encouraging people to plan their journeys ahead of time as tens of thousands of people take to the streets for the 2026 AJ Bell Great Manchester Run this Sunday (31 May), whether they are taking part in it or just cheering the runners on.
Runners will either take on a 10K route through Salford, Trafford, and Manchester city centre, or tackle a half marathon route – which stretches further east, while passing some of Manchester’s most iconic landmarks.
Both events start on Portland Street, near the junction with Oxford Street, and finish on Manchester’s main thoroughfare, Deansgate.
A major ‘plan ahead’ travel warning has been issued for this weekend / Credit: Supplied | Janus Boye
TfGM is advising anyone travelling on the day to allow extra time for their journeys and to check before they travel, as there will be a significant number of road closures and extensive bus diversions in place throughout race day.
Road users are being particularly encouraged to check the route and closures in advance, while bus passengers should check whether their services are impacted or diverted.
Trams are being billed as ‘the best way to travel on the day’.
Extra staff will be deployed across the Bee Network, particularly at the busiest stops, and more double-trams are set to be in service.
The 2026 AJ Bell Great Manchester Run is taking place this Sunday / Credit: Supplied
TfGM says it will be working alongside its partners – including Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and the bus and tram operators – to monitor and respond to situations as they happen, and will also be working with local authority highways teams to get road restrictions lifted as soon as possible to help minimise any delays for the wider public.
“The Great Manchester Run is always one of the highlights of the city’s events calendar, bringing a fantastic festival atmosphere to the streets of Manchester, Trafford, and Salford,” commented Danny Vaughan, who is the Chief Network Officer.
“With tens of thousands of people expected to travel into the city region it will undoubtedly be a very busy day.
“We want to make sure everyone can take part in or enjoy the event, which is why we encourage people to plan ahead, allow extra time for their journey and check the latest travel information before setting off.”
For live travel updates on race day, head to the TfGM dedicated webpage here.
Danny Jones -
13th August 2025 
