Jack Grealish’s loan spell at Everton got off to a rocky start after his side lost 1-0 to a newly-promoted Leeds United side.
However, the Manchester City loanee has the chance to help the Toffees bounce back against Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday.
Considering Jack Grealish came off the bench against Leeds, he will be hoping to start against Brighton.
David Moyes believe Grealish could redeem himself and in the Merseyside-based club’s next game, it will be interesting to see whether he deploys him as a left-winger or in a number 10 role.
Jack Grealish trying to dribble past Leeds United's Dan James v Everton
Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images
Jack Grealish could become frustrated at Everton like Cristiano Ronaldo at Man United
With Wayne Rooney backing Grealish to thrive at Everton on loan, there is plenty of expectations on the winger’s shoulders to become a success at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Whether the 29-year-old can rise to the occasion remains to be seen.
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Speaking on the Unfiltered Soccer Podcast With Landon Donovan and Tim Howard, Gary Neville suspects Grealish could become frustrated at Everton like he felt Cristiano Ronaldo did when he returned to Manchester United.
The popular pundit claimed: “My concern is that he’s going to end up from going from a treble-winning Man City team, playing with Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, Erling Haaland and Rodri and he’s now going to go into a team that’s got obviously inferior players around him, and is he going to become disillusioned with it and feel that they’re not up to the standard of him?”
Gary Neville believes Grealish will have to be patient with his Everton teammates and emerge as a leader, saying: “So I think he’s going to have to show patience, I think he’s going to have to show leadership. When you think about when Cristiano Ronaldo came back to United and it was quite clear he became frustrated playing with players that maybe wasn’t at the standard he’d been used to at Real Madrid and the other clubs he played at and United previously.”
“I wonder whether Jack, you know, is he going to be a shining light and a beacon in that Everton team? Or is he going to become frustrated, a little bit snappy, someone who basically gets, you know, booked quite regularly because he’s not quite getting the service that he’s used to and playing with the players that he’s used to.”
The worry for Everton about Jack Grealish behind the scenes
Considering Grealish captained Aston Villa, perhaps he could have the leadership qualities to become David Moyes’ go-to man alongside Seamus Coleman and live up to Gary Neville’s expectations.
However, during the 2023/2024 season in particular, things went south for the England international behind the scenes at the Etihad Stadium.
So much so that Pep Guardiola reportedly doubted Grealish’s professionalism during that campaign, often going out with his friends and not training like a top player should.
The report mentioned that Guardiola expressed his grievances to the three-time Premier League winner on several occasions but eventually had to leave him out of his matchday squad ahead of City’s 4-0 win against Fulham.
However, Grealish is still in Thomas Tuchel’s good books and unless he becomes Everton’s “beacon of light” as Gary Neville has suggested him to be, he could be set to miss the 2026 World Cup.