dewsbury-hall-tarkowski-everton
Everton head coach David Moyes looks like he will have a big decision to make on Jack Grealish's future when the January transfer window opens.
The former England international has been left out of the last three matchday squads after a breach of club discipline in the build-up to the League Cup clash with Newcastle United.
Jack Grealish for Everton
Jack Grealish for Everton
Three successive wins in those three games have left it up in the air as to whether or not he returns to the squad on the other side of the international break, and whether or not the Toffees decide to cancel his loan from Manchester City after the turn of the year.
Thankfully, other players have stepped up in his absence. Former Chelsea central midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, for example, has enjoyed a strong start to the season.
How Everton hit the jackpot with Dewsbury-Hall
The left-footed star had his breakthrough season with Leicester City in the Championship in the 2023/24 campaign, scoring 12 goals and providing 14 assists as they won the title.
Leicester midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall
Leicester midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall
However, he was then signed by Chelsea and only played 292 minutes of Premier League football in the 2024/25 season, which halted his development.
That provided Everton with the chance to swoop in and secure his services for a fee of up to £28m in the summer of 2025, giving him an opportunity to play regular football after struggling for minutes at Stamford Bridge.
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Dewsbury-Hall (Premier League) 25/26 26/27
Appearances 31 10
xG 4.31 1.77
Goals 8 3
Key passes per game 1.2 2.2
Big chances created 10 7
Assists 4 1
Dewsbury-Hall's return of 11 goals, most recently scoring against Coventry City, and 17 'big chances' created since the start of last season shows that the Toffees have struck gold with the midfielder.
Everton were willing to take a risk on the 28-year-old star, who had only previously excelled on a regular basis in the Championship, and they are now reaping the rewards.
Grealish replacement: Everton's next Dewsbury-Hall is warming the bench
Now, the club can unearth the perfect replacement for Grealish and their next version of Dewsbury-Hall from a player who is currently warming the bench.
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The Toffees paid a fee of £16.5m to sign central midfielder Hayden Hackney from Middlesbrough in the summer transfer window, after he won the Championship Player of the Year award.
Like Dewsbury-Hall, the Englishman joined the club as an unproven player in the Premier League, as he came straight from the Championship this summer.
The former England U21 international has had to bide his time, though, as he has only started one of his nine appearances in the league for Moyes' side so far this term.
Hayden Hackney for Everton
Hayden Hackney for Everton
Hackney has largely been warming the bench in the Premier League, coming off the bench for eight of his nine outings, and has produced one assist for the team in that time.
The 24-year-old midfielder's form for Boro in the 2025/26 campaign, though, suggests that there is far more to come from him in an Everton shirt, if he is given the chance to play regular minutes.
Hackney excelled as an attacking force for Kim Hellberg's side in the second tier, racking up 13 goals and 'big chances' created combined in 38 starts as a central midfielder.
He also provided Everton fans with a glimpse of what he can offer in the final third with a goal and an assist in the 3-1 win over Newcastle in the League Cup.
Hackney's goal contributions from a central midfield position and his general athleticism suggest that he could thrive as an attacking midfielder, or as a wide midfielder who inverts into central positions, which is what Grealish often does.
He could be the perfect replacement for Grealish, who has not scored or created a goal in any competition this season, as a talented young player who can offer goal contributions in the positions that the Man City loanee plays in.
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The former Boro skipper can follow in Dewsbury-Hall's footsteps by becoming another former Championship star to excel at the Hill Dickinson as an attacking midfielder.
That would then allow Moyes to cancel Grealish's in January because he would already have a replacement in the building, having been warming the bench so far this term.
Jack Grealish for Everton
Jack Grealish for Everton