Everton correspondent Joe Thomas looks at how the 29-year-old could be the catalyst for further much-needed business this summer
Joe Thomas is the Everton FC correspondent for the Liverpool ECHO. He follows the Blues home and away, providing match reports, analysis and insight into events at Goodison Park, Finch Farm and beyond. Joe spent more than a decade covering news on Merseyside, working on award-winning investigations and extensively covering matters related to the Hillsborough tragedy - including the recent criminal prosecutions. Always grateful for tips and feedback, he can be contacted at joe.thomas@reachplc.com and on Twitter via @joe_thomas18
Grealish has joined Everton (Photo by Eddie Keogh - The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
Jack Grealish is the biggest name of a transformative transfer window for Everton. The 29-year-old is a Champions League winner who has regularly lit up the Premier League and there is no doubt he raises the pedigree of David Moyes’ attacking options - a clear priority for this summer.
His arrival on a season-long loan from Manchester City has allowed Everton to capitalise on the momentum gathered through last week’s addition of Club World Cup winner Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and supporters’ first true glimpse of the stunning new stadium against Roma. It could also provide a major boost to another area of importance - the remaining weeks of the summer transfer window.
Moyes has made no secret of the difficulties posed by trying to revolutionise Everton’s squad. The sheer number of departures this summer provided an opportunity for a reset, a chance to sweep away the muddled priorities of the Farhad Moshiri years and build a more coherent unit under the gaze of a new-look recruitment unit.
The hope was that players would be able to see the potential in the Everton project. Yet it appears the belief that better days lie ahead has not yet seeped into the wider football world, where a lack of European football and the stigma of recent woes on and off the pitch has made it harder for Everton to recruit on their terms.
The insistence throughout the summer has been the club will not fill gaps for the sake of it and wants new signings to meet a quality threshold that will allow them to take the club forward in a sustainable fashion.
A multi-million pound loan deal for Grealish is the height of the excess we have seen so far - unlike, say, the moves for rising stars Thierno Barry, Carlos Alcaraz and Adam Aznou, this is a deal with the short term in mind. It could have long term consequences, however, if Grealish provides the necessary spark to ignite the final weeks of business.
Earlier in the summer, the club was unable to tempt the likes of Liam Delap, Kenny Tete and Malick Fofana to become part of this Royal Blue regeneration. The signing of Grealish will wake many to the Blues’ new-found ambition - it is a statement of intent and one that could spur targets who would otherwise be hesitant to come to Merseyside.
That has to be part of the plan. This deal is not without risk. Indeed, it only makes sense if it is built upon by further work - particularly on Everton’s right, where the lack of specialist options in attack and defence has left the side unbalanced through pre-season.
The benefits a player of Grealish’s ilk can provide will be severely undermined if the club is still using square pegs in round holes at right back and on the right wing. There is also the question of where he fits in, given that Dewsbury-Hall is also a left-footed player who took on theadvanced central midfield role against Roma, while Everton’s most creative player Iliman Ndiaye has operated most effectively from the left wing.
These will be nice problems for Moyes to have, and pleasant issues for Blues to mull over. Everton ended 2024 in a relegation battle after losing at home to Nottingham Forest in a match in which they failed to muster a shot on target until the 82nd minute. At Bournemouth, in the first game of the new year and the last of Sean Dyche’s reign in the dugout, they managed none.
Eight months later, Everton have the potential to start the likes of Grealish, Ndiaye and Dewsbury-Hall and turn to players such as Carlos Alcaraz - who proved to be a match winner at Crystal Palace, Fulham and Newcastle after his arrival in February - and Dwight McNeil from the bench.
Grealish alone will not solve all the problems Moyes is currently facing. But he adds impetus to the preparations for the season ahead - in the dressing room, in the stands and in the transfer market. After a slow start, Everton are getting stronger - and are gaining key players as the likes of Bournemouth and Brentford lose them and as the managers of teams like Crystal Palace and Fulham speak of their struggle to add new faces. Each of those sides finished above the Blues last season.
There will be challenges ahead and Moyes and Everton have much to do. But if the right work can be done around Grealish - and the club insist that is the plan - then he could live up to his potential of becoming a transformative signing in a year of historic transition. It might also just be a lot fun - and who begrudge Everton supporters some of that after recent years?