Grealish return would be 'absolute no-brainer' for Everton

[Getty Images] The Liverpool Echo's Joe Thomas says having a player like Jack Grealish in the Everton ranks would prove "invaluable" and bringing him back to the club should be a "no-brainer" if possible. Grealish spent last season on loan at the Toffees from Manchester City , impressing in the first half of the campaign before a foot injury suffered in January ruled him out for the rest of the campaign. The 30-year-old was spotted among the players who had reported for pre-season duty for City last week but he missed out on a seat on the plane for the club's tour of Hong Kong and Seoul through injury. He has entered the final 12 months of his contract with little sign of being offered new terms on his reported £300,000-a-week wages and his future is still undecided. "With Grealish, I think his leadership comes in a slightly different way than that of a James Tarkowski or a Seamus Coleman," Thomas told BBC Radio Merseyside's Giulia Bould. "You see a lot of his leadership comes from his football intelligence and IQ on the pitch. "When you look at the way Everton's season petered out, I lose count of the times I thought how useful it would be to have someone like Jack Grealish in some of those games. "When those games were getting away from Everton and they were conceding late goals, particularly against Liverpool and Manchester City, the value of having someone there with a little bit of nous, who can win free-kicks, get up the pitch, break the opposition momentum and act like the galvanising factor for his teammates as well was shown to be invaluable. "If Everton could get that back and there is an opportunity to get that back this season, it would be an absolute no-brainer." Listen to the full chat below or on BBC Sounds here