It's long been a frustrating clause in loan contracts. The 'parent club' rule or 'fear clause' prevents Premier League players from playing against the parent team involved in a loan deal. It means Jack Grealish won't feature for Everton this weekend against Manchester City.
It's not the first time the Toffees have been subject to this longstanding FA rule. Last season, Armando Broja was absent from their league games with Chelsea. Here are four Everton players whose managers missed the most due to the 'parent club' loan rule.
**1\. Romelu Lukaku**
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Everton fans will have fond memories of Romelu Lukaku's time at Goodison Park. With 110 appearances and [53 goals](https://fbref.com/en/players/5eae500a/all_comps/Romelu-Lukaku-Stats---All-Competitions), he brought a level of goalscoring acumen rarely seen at the club. Lukaku initially joined the Toffees on a season-long loan from parent club Chelsea in 2013/2014.
They would beat the Londoners 1-0 without him in a September fixture, marking new manager Roberto Martinez's first three points. The return leg at Stamford Bridge in February brought the opposite result after Lacina Traore was injured in the warm-up. Desperate times.
**2\. Gareth Barry**
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Premier League stalwart Gareth Barry was also a 2013/2014 season arrival. Having joined from parent club Manchester City, Barry moved on a deadline day loan. It turned out to be a smart piece of business, as his experience led to him laying down his marker in the starting eleven.
2013/2014 saw Barry miss just three league games after he joined. A yellow card suspension, and the two meetings with Manchester City. Everton would concede six goals over two defeats to City. They would go on to lift the Premier League title a week on from the second victory, the last game of the season.
**3\. Tim Howard**
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Tim Howard is widely regarded as Everton's best goalkeeper of the Premier League era. While it's hard to dethrone Big Nev from those bragging rights in the all-time stakes, Howard is up there. The American made [329 appearances over 10 seasons](https://fbref.com/en/players/c444465e/all_comps/Tim-Howard-Stats---All-Competitions) for the club.
In 2006/2007, David Moyes brought one of many Manchester United benchwarmers to Goodison Park. Howard would quickly become the first name on the teamsheet, keeping 14 Premier League clean sheets. Everton would lose their two fixtures with United that season, starting Richard Wright and Iain Turner in net in his absence.
**4\. Conor Coady**
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England international Conor Coady will go down as a Wolves club legend. He captained the side to promotion from the Championship in 2018/2019. But with one year left on his contract, Wolves manager Bruno Lage decided to shop him to Everton on a loan option to buy in 2022/2023.
Coady started 23 games in a row after joining the Toffees, with the absence of the Wolves' home fixture. He was shown preference by manager Frank Lampard, but new manager Sean Dyche would eventually prefer his old Burnley pairing of Michael Keane and James Tarkowski. Coady would go on to sign with Leicester City the following summer.