The main story dominating Everton circles at the moment is Jack Grealish's continued absence from the side after a breach of club discipline last month.
David Moyes has refused to give out a timeline on when the England international is due to return to training and matches with the team, after he sat out for the third game running against Coventry City.
REUTERS/Jason Cairnduff
Grealish did not feature in either of the wins over Newcastle United in the Premier League and the League Cup, and had to watch on as his teammates beat the Sky Blues 3-1 on Friday night, thanks to two goals from Thierno Barry and one from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
The Toffees have yet to officially comment on exactly what the winger did wrong to breach the club's disciplinary rules, but it has cost him a chance to play in the last three matches.
Why Everton should move on from Jack Grealish
The £300k-per-week forward is currently on loan from Manchester City until the end of the 2026/27 campaign, and the club should consider cutting that short when the January transfer window opens for business.
Reuters/Craig Brough
Grealish is not a young player who can use inexperience or youthfulness as an excuse for ill-discipline, as may have been the case at Aston Villa, when he was investigated by the Villans for holding a party in his hotel room after a game in 2016.
Everton are trying to build something special at the Hill Dickinson, as they aim for a return to European football, and they do not need players being a disruptive influence off the field.
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2026/27 Premier League Jack Grealish
Appearances 6
xG 0.11
Goals 0
Key passes per game 1.5
xA 0.80
Assists 0
Successful dribbles per game 0.2
Dribble success rate 20%
The 31-year-old attacking midfielder's play when he has been available has also not been good enough to suggest that Everton should ignore his ill-discipline, as he has not registered a goal or an assist since the 4-2 defeat to Brentford in January.
Moyes, therefore, should cut ties with Grealish when the January transfer window opens by sending him back to Manchester City earlier than expected.
£13m Everton star is following Grealish out of the door
The former Aston Villa superstar is not the only Everton player who could be on his way out of the Hill Dickinson stadium after the turn of the year.
thierno-barry-everton-coventry
Central midfielder Carlos Alcaraz is another player who is quickly becoming finished on Merseyside under Moyes, albeit for very different reasons.
Whilst Grealish's ill-discipline could cost him his career with the Toffees, the former Southampton midfield talent's lack of game time and struggles when he has played could lead to a January exit.
After a brief stint on loan at the end of the 2024/25 campaign, Alcaraz joined Everton on a permanent basis from Flamengo for a fee of £13m in the summer of 2025.
REUTERS/Jon Super
His first full season with the Toffees was a frustrating one, though, as he missed ten Premier League games through injury, was an unused substitute for eight matches, and only started six times.
In his six starts and 14 appearances as a substitute in the top-flight in the 2025/26 campaign, the Argentine star failed to show that he deserved more minutes on the pitch.
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25/26 Premier League Carlos Alcaraz
Appearances 20
Goals 0
Assists 1
Tackles per game 0.7
Interceptions per game 0.2
Ground duel success rate 45%
Aerial duel success rate 45%
He only produced one goal contribution in 20 outings in the Premier League, whilst he also lost the majority of his physical duels on the ground and in the air.
It should not be a surprise, therefore, that Alcaraz has struggled for minutes in the league this season, playing just one minute off the bench in the 3-1 win over Coventry.
The 23-year-old midfielder has only played 33 minutes across five matches in the Premier League this season, coming off the bench five times and being an unused substitute on five occasions.
Alcaraz is only getting a few minutes here and there off the bench, after he also found game time hard to come by last term, which suggests that Moyes does not view him as a frontline option in the middle of the park.
Charly Alcaraz
The former Southampton star should be moved on when the January transfer window opens because the last 18 months suggests that he is not going to be an important player for Everton moving forward.
It does not benefit anyone if Moyes has a player he does not trust to play regular game time and if Alcaraz is wasting his career away on the bench, which is why a winter move could be on the cards.