New Hope for Jack Grealish? How He Fits in at Everton

New Hope for Jack Grealish? How He Fits in at Everton

Following Fabrizio Romano’s famous “Here We Go!”, it is now all but confirmed that Jack Grealish will be heading to the Hill Dickinson stadium for the 2025/26 Premier League campaign on a season-long loan deal.

🚨💣 EXCL: Jack Grealish to Everton, here we go! Loan deal agreed with Man City and medical booked later today.

Grealish said yes to #EFC project and he’s now set to complete his move in next 24 hours.

New addition for David Moyes. 🔵🃏 pic.twitter.com/iP4e0rh7yb

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 11, 2025

It was just four years ago when Manchester City signed Grealish from Aston Villa for a British record fee of £100m, however, injuries and inconsistent performances meant he dropped down the pecking order at the Etihad.

The 29-year-old made over 150 appearances for the Citizens but was recently left out of Pep Guardiola’s Club World Cup squad. After making just seven starts last season, contributing to two goals, the move to Merseyside may be exactly what Grealish needs to reignite his career as he seeks to board the plane over the Atlantic next summer.

Strengths and Weaknesses

The England playmaker is known for his exceptional ability on the ball. Whether it is pass completion, progressive passes, progressive carries, or even touches in the final third, Grealish ranks within the top 13% of positional peers in these metrics.

He is a complete game-changer, with a perfect example being at the 2020 European Championships. Whenever England lacked any creative outlet or attacking spark, Grealish would come onto the pitch and provide Southgate with exactly what was needed out of him, with his two assists against Germany illustrating this.

He is even able to exploit a gap in the most compact of defences, due to his natural ability to play on the half-turn and control the ball by the producing the optimal touch every time.

One of Grealish’s key issues is when he doesn't have the ball at his feet. He is not known for sprinting back and winning the ball for his team, like many similar players are now having to do. Perfect examples could include the likes of his City teammates Bernardo Silva and Jeremy Doku, which could be a reason for him becoming out of favour with Pep.

This is displayed in the following defensive contribution metrics among players similar to him, as he ranks poorly in tackles, interceptions, and aerials won per 90. His three yellow cards also suggest that even when he does attempt to track back on his flank, he doesn’t time his challenge well enough and is disciplined for it, whether that be through misjudgement or a lapse in concentration.

Tactical Fit Under David Moyes

At Everton, Grealish may very well become the main man for the first time since his playing days at Villa Park, and this could be the perfect time to revitalise his career.

We may expect him to play on the right side rather than his usual left flank, due to how David Moyes likes to operate his wingers by having them invert, allowing his full-backs to make overlapping runs.

This could work well for Grealish, as he can cut in on his favoured left foot to play a through ball to an on-running forward to unlock the defensive line. Alternatively, he could play a ball in over the top towards Beto or Thierno Barry after cutting in, as another forward option.

This will help increase the quantity of chances the Toffees are able to produce, by providing more options for goals to come from. This will fit well to Grealish’s abilities as a playmaker, and could certainly result in the England international racking up the assists.

There could even be the third option of Grealish going by himself, to create opportunities as a result of placing himself in the small pockets between the opposing defenders. This could enable the extra space for him to run into after pulling the full-backs or centre-backs out of position.

After signing Barry from Villarreal and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall from Chelsea already this summer, and with Grealish in the door with potentially more to come, this season could prove to be an exciting one for the Toffees.

Grealish has the potential to star under Moyes if he is utilised in the right way and in the right role within Moyes’ system. This opportunity definitely grants new hope for Grealish, and if he can take advantage of this new lease in life, it would not surprise me if he boards that plane to the USA in 10 months time.