Will Everton be active in the remaining weeks of the transfer market? David Moyes will certainly hope so!
Earlier this summer, Moyes asserted that he needs "nine or ten" new players before the Premier League season begins for his side with a Monday night trip to Leeds United.
Everton manager David Moyes reacts
Well, since then, the Toffees have made a few more additions, but many more are surely required, so are the Blues closing in on a deal to bring in a multiple-Premier League winner?
Everton searching for new signing
Not so long ago, as noted by Graham Ruthven of Total Soccer Show, Everton's summer window had been quite "underwhelming", with Mark Travers the new back-up goalkeeper and young left-back Adam Aznou arriving from Bayern Munich, while striker Thierno Barry was the headline addition, joining from Villarreal for £27m.
Dewsbury-Hall-Everton-Moyes
However, in the last week or so, things have got a lot more interesting, with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall joining from Chelsea for £28m.
Meantime, as reported by David Ornstein of The Athletic, the Toffees have had a £40m bid rejected by Southampton for winger Tyler Dibling, although there is optimism an agreement can be reached, with the Saints holding out for closer to £50m.
The teenager was not even on the bench for Southampton's EFL Championship opener on Saturday, a dramatic 2-1 win over Wrexham at St Mary's, with Sami Mokbel of BBC Sport adding that he is no longer participating in 'full contact training', avoiding any potential injury that could scupper a move.
Everton though are not finished there because, as reported by GIVEMESPORT, they have opened talks with Manchester City, seeking to sign Jack Grealish on a season-long loan. The Toffees are hoping to add the Englishman, as well as Dibling, this summer, according to the report.
Rob Dawson of ESPN adds that Man City's preference was a permanent deal but, with no potential suitors matching their asking price, a loan appears the most likely outcome, so will Grealish be Everton's marquee signing as they prepare for life at Hill Dickinson Stadium?
What Jack Grealish will bring to Everton
Just four summers ago, Grealish joined Manchester City for £100m, which remains one of the most expensive transfers in English football history.
Premier League record signings (timeless)
During his first two campaigns at the Etihad, he was a key contributor, but his importance has diminished in the subsequent two seasons, as the table below documents.
Jack Grealish season-by-season statistics
Statistics
Appearances
Minutes
Starts
PL starts
Goals
Assists
Times an unused sub
All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt
As the table outlines, Grealish's importance at Manchester City had already been on a downward slope before hitting rock bottom last season, culminating in him not being included in the Sky Blues' squad for the Club World Cup earlier this summer.
Nevertheless, his quality has never been up for debate, with journalist Henry Winter labelling him "magic", adding that he "brings something different" to a team.
Grealish
Meantime, Richard Jolly of the Independent believes that, back when he was at Aston Villa, he was 'one of the most exciting attacking players in world football'.
Thus, Moyes and Evertonians everywhere will hope he can rediscover his magic on Merseyside.
If he does, the hope will be that he'll strike up a good relationship with Iliman Ndiaye, who was Everton's most-productive attacker last season, scoring 11 goals in all competitions. So, let's analyse how the duo compare to one another.
Jack Grealish 2022/23 vs Iliman Ndiaye 2024/25 (PL only)
Statistics
Appearances
Minutes
Goals
Assists
Expected assists
Shots
Shots on target %
Chances created
Big chances created
Successful take-ons
Take-on success %
Touches per 90
Average SofaScore rating
Statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt, Squawka and SofaScore
As the table outlines, when using data from the most recent season in which Grealish saw more than 1,000 minutes of action in the Premier League, the duo are quite different, which should make them a deadly attacking partnership.
Ndiaye is much more the finisher, scoring nine goals, while a commendably high proportion of his shots hit the target, sat at two thirds for this metric, while he does like to dribble with the ball at his feet too.
Grealish, meantime, will fill the role of chief creator, boasting seven assists, as well as exponentially higher numbers when it comes to chances created, big chances created, expected assists and touches per 90, underlining that he is more frequently involved in play.
Jack-Grealish-Everton-Moyes
Thus, should the England international complete a move to Everton, this is a signing supporters should be excited about for sure.