Jack Grealish is back at Everton on a second season-long loan move
Jack Grealish returns to Everton. Image: Everton FC
Jack Grealish returns to Everton. Image: Everton FC
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Everton have sealed the return of Jack Grealish on a season-long loan from Manchester City.
The 30-year-old will reunite with David Moyes after a successful stint on Merseyside in which he became a fan favourite for the Blues - a club he credited with having revived his love of the game.
The move was sealed in the final hours of a transfer window in which Grealish always appeared likely to end up back in Royal Blue.
"It feels so good. I'm so happy," said Grealish. "I think I'm at my best at everything in life, not just football, when I feel loved. That's what the manager has given me, what my teammates have given me and especially what the fans have given me.
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"Every time I see an Everton fan, it's just pure love and the way they've welcomed me since that first game against Leeds, I'll never forget that. It means a lot to me and hopefully I've made a few Everton fans happy.
"I had a perfect time here for the first six months, then I stayed around after I got injured. I’ve been watching all the Everton games in pre-season and since the season started.
"Now I feel ready to go. I'm ready to start training tomorrow and prepare for the games."
On his relationship with manager David Moyes, he added: “I love him, the manager. I think he’s such a great guy. He was a big reason why I wanted to come back here as well.
"I’ve had certain managers in the past where I feel I’ve played my best football under them – and he falls into that category, for sure.
"I had such a good connection with him – and the players here. I'm ready to play wherever the manager wants me and help as much as I can."
Grealish scored two goals - both late match-winners - and created six during his spell with the club last season. They included the assists for both goals in Everton’s first competitive game at their new Hill Dickinson Stadium, a 2-0 win over Brighton and Hove Albion.
The treble winner became a talismanic figure whose presence lifted fan expectations and belief amongst the playing squad - he was pivotal in heady away wins at Manchester United and Aston Villa.
It was following his return to Villa Park in January - a night that ended with him talking to England manager Thomas Tuchel as he gathered momentum for a call-up to the international squad - that disaster struck, however.
Grealish reported an injury concern in the aftermath of the game and it later emerged he had been playing with a stress fracture in his foot. The issue required surgery and ended his season prematurely, a hammer blow that would cost Everton in a campaign in which a push for Europe ended in disappointment.
In what appeared to be a telling move, Grealish carried out his rehabilitation at Everton rather than back at parent club City. He continued to volunteer for involvement in the charity work of Everton in the Community, too.
Everton sources expressed an eagerness to explore his return before the transfer window opened and maintained contact with the player’s representatives throughout. Any deal was always likely to be a late one as City sought a potential buyer for the player they once spent £100m on and as Everton sought assurances he had properly recovered from injury.
The signs on that front have been positive and Grealish featured in the Community Shield defeat to Arsenal and the opening league game against Bournemouth. City have continued to do business, however, and deadline day moves for Iliman Ndiaye, in a separate deal from Everton, and for Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez paved the way for Grealish to leave.